Does the freezing change the basket making process?
CREE: It keeps them damp. They’re fresh after you take them out of the freezer. A long time ago we just stuck them in water. But now, in the summertime, we freeze them. NEA: Do you think it changes the traditional nature of the basket? CREE: It does, but the willow’s still the same color. NEA: Tell me more about the traditional colors and designs. CREE: We use brown, red and white in our designs. The brown willow comes in three colors. Some are buckskin color, some are darker brown. I think they just go according to the weather. In the spring they’re a little lighter, then later on they turn a little brown. Right now they’ll be fully brown. You get three colors out of them. Then we get the natural red willow, that’s all the same color all the time. We use two kinds of willow, the red willow and the brown willow. To make the white design we scrape the bark off of the willow. NEA: How did you learn those designs? Did you come up with those or were those passed along? CREE: I learned it a
