Preserving Ties to the Past: Native Artisan Revives Tribal Basketmaking

We live in a world that is becoming more and more impersonal. A world that forgets its past at the peril of losing a connection with the bedrock of where it came from. Cultural preservation is an important aspect of maintaining that connection and remaining grounded with who we are as a people. Preservation can take the form of historical research into the past. It also might involve the embrace of an art form by an artist, or the preservation of a craft by an artisan.

In the case of Theresa Secord of Waterville, an artisan and a member of the Penobscot Nation, her contribution to cultural preservation has taken the form of maintaining the vitality of

tribal basketmaking. Her involvement came from the realization ten years ago that basketmaking among Native peoples might someday die out without intervention. She knew that the commitment needed to come from a group of artisans bent on preserving their craft. From the genesis of this idea, Secord has become one of the founders and a driving force behind the Maine

Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA). This alliance has been credited with reviving the endangered art of tribal basketmaking in Maine.

Over the last decade, MIBA has seen its membership of trained tribal basketmakers grow from 55 to 120. Not only has membership grown, but there are a growing number of younger

basketmakers coming to the craft. MIBA has seen the average age of members decrease from 63 to 43 years of age. As membership has grown and introduced the craft to the younger generations,

the alliance has begun programs such as periodic workshops in all five reservation communities in Maine, the sponsoring of a demanding year-long apprenticeship program, annual gatherings

and markets for tribal basketmakers and a marketing campaign featuring the Wabanaki Arts Center Gallery in Old Town. MIBA baskets have been featured at a special exhibition in New York City, at the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institute. Additionally, the alliance has produced a comprehensive tourism guide to native art and culture in Maine.

For these efforts, Secord was honored in October of last year by the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) with a prestigious international prize. On the tenth anniversary of the

WWSF prize, Secord became the first United States citizen to receive the “Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life.