Creator Record
Metadata
Name |
Bigtree, Mae |
Notes |
Marjorie Mae Bigtree, Kanentiiosta Mohawk Nation Wolf Clan Mae Bigtree was born on November 21, 1934. Her childhood was spent at the Mohawk community of Akwesasne. Tagging along behind her mother, Anna LaFrance, she observed the exchange of Anna's baskets for food and clothing. At that point she vowed vowing never to make baskets herself, because the money was so bad. For much of her life, Mae avoided basketmaking. However, in the 1980's Mohawk baskets had gone from being inexpensive craft items to celebrated art objects, with a considerable increase in economic value. With this in mind, Mae signed up for classes with highly accomplished basketmakers Margaret Terrance, her sister Mary Adams, and Charlotte Delormier hosted by the Akwesasne Museum. From that day, there was no turning back. As is the tradition, Mae constructs her baskets with black ash splints and sweetgrass, with a conservative use of dyed splints. She expresses in a variety of forms including fancy baskets, swear baskets, wampum baskets, and wishing well baskets. True to the standards of her teachers, she strives for firm construction and an exceptionally tight weave. In 1999, she was pursuing her art full time, fulfilling requests referred from the Akwesasne Museum, as well as orders from Maine, New York, Washington, DC and overseas. Generous with her knowledge, Mae has demonstrated her skills at the Iroquois Indian Museum, the Akwesasne Museum, and numerous other local venues. Starting in 1992 Mae followed in the footsteps of her predecessors and began teaching basketmaking classes to community members at the Akwesasne Museum and in 1999 began the process of passing the torch to her granddaughteer, Michelle David Bigtree. Mae passed on in 2006 but her legacy continues in the talented hands of apprentices Ronni Leigh Goeman, Shelia Ransom, and others. Her work has earned her several awards and are in the permanent collections of the Iroquois Indian Museum, the Smithsonian Museum Folk Art Collection (Washington, DC), the New York State Museum (Albany, NY) and the Akwesasne Museum on Mohawk Nation territory near Hogansburg, NY. *Bio text cannot be used in print or web publications without IIM permission. Use for other purposes (such as research papers, presentations) should credit the IIM. |
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