By CLAIRE WINTER and ELLA WALTERS
On October 25 the Logan Museum of Anthropology unveiled its newest exhibit in the upstairs Shaw Gallery. The exhibit, entitled Pokagon Potawatomi Black Ash Baskets: Our Storytellers, is a traveling exhibition curated and cared for by the Field Museum of Chicago and Dr. John Low, a professor of American Indian Studies and a proud member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
The exhibit, which displays baskets made from black ash tree bark, represents a traditional craft of many Native American peoples of the Upper Great Lakes region, where black ash trees are common. Yet, for the Potawatomi people, this tradition showcases a deep expression of identity and personhood – and beyond that, it also signifies the Potawatomi people’s fight for tribal sovereignty.
“It’s a story arc of resurgence,” says Nikita Werner, curator of collections for the Logan Museum of Anthropology, when describing the story and history you get to explore throughout. According to Werner, the craft of black ash baskets within the Potawatomi has been transformed from something that had nearly been forgotten into an integral part of the community and their identity as a tribe. It sparked a fight for acknowledgment that lasted from the 1930s until 1994, when President Bill Clinton federally recognized the Potawatomi people’s tribal sovereignty. This allowed them not only sovereignty but the ability to have items stolen from them repatriated (returned to its original tribe). The exhibit itself showcases a video featuring several members of the Potawatomi gathering in their town hall, not only to create but also to teach and bring community members together.
This video is not the only way this exhibition gives voice and connection to its viewers- there are also the baskets themselves. Each is grouped according to what “family” it belongs to. For example, the Brown Family is a group of baskets made by the Pokagon Basket Maker’s Co-op.
Even if the baskets are attributed to an unknown maker, they still have stories to tell. Littered throughout placards of information on the baskets, there are also quotes attributed to the different baskets, having them express how they came to be and how they may feel. One says, “I was made for sale to help my maker earn a living, but I was bought by someone who didn’t treat me well. Over the years I’ve felt some neglect … But I’m well now and very happy to meet you.” The baskets, in this way, can tell their own story.
Throughout the exhibit, the viewer is introduced to the history of the baskets, all beautiful, contemporary examples of their artistry, and introduced to the remarkable people who crafted them. The exhibit also emphasizes the threats to the craft. Black ash trees are dying at an alarming rate due to an invasive beetle, the Emerald Ash Borer, all over the Midwest, and on top of this looms the ever-present threat of climate change.
The underlying question, contextualized with these threats, becomes less about preservation and more about adaptation. The exhibit asks, “What do you do when the material that you use to make your art and tell your stories disappears?” This is a hard question to answer, but through the exhibition and the ongoing conversation we can have with the baskets and ourselves, a resounding response of resilience emerges.
The exhibit itself isn’t the end of this discussion, though. On November 12, the Logan Museum will host an Exhibition Reception and Gallery Talk featuring guest speaker Molli Pauliot. Pauliot will present her doctoral research on Ho-Chunk Black Ash basket makers, a nation she is a part of. Pauliot’s research emphasizes the preservation of cultural traditions in a living way- how traditions might be carried on in the face of changing climates and environments. The Exhibition Reception will start at 4 p.m., and the Gallery Talk will begin at 5 p.m.
When showcasing the baskets, Nikita Werner pointed to one of her favorites (Lidded Basket), saying, “It’s just beautiful and the patina…” describing it as one of the ‘grandparents’ of the exhibit and pointing out how the color became richer and deeper with age. When going through the exhibit, Ella Walters especially loved the Blueberry Basket. It was dyed to resemble a blueberry, a sacred fruit of the Potawatomi, and showcased curled spikes called curlicues all around its base.
Even though the baskets only fill one corner of the Shaw Gallery, they are a striking exhibit. Werner described it as “small but mighty,” a perfect description of the baskets themselves. Although some are small enough to fit in your hand, each one holds within it the stories and hearts of its people and culture. The exhibit will be available until February 21.
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