California Indian Basketweavers Association

Sacramento Valley Native American Visual/Craft/Material Arts 2012 2017

The California Indian Basketweavers Association’s (CIBA’s) vision is to preserve, promote, and perpetuate California Indian basketweaving traditions while providing a healthy physical, social, spiritual, and economic environment for basketweavers.  CIBA works to create a network of basketweavers who support one another in their gathering and weaving activities, and who pass their tradition to the next generation.

In 2002, support from ACTA’s Traditional Arts Development Program allowed CIBA provide valuable services to basketweavers attending their annual gathering that year, including the production of an artist’s statement and studio-quality photograph of each participant’s work.  Such materials were made avaiable to the artists to be used for a variety of purposes, including grant applications, promotion, and education or information on traditional arts.

In 2011, with support from ACTA’s Traditional Arts Development Program, consultant Kenneth Freeman worked with CIBA’s board of directors in a series of strategic planning and administrative capacity workshops

A grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program in 2012 supported a project engaging trained museum professionals and Native Californian cultural consultants to develop a plan for improved management and housing of CIBA’s 75 historic Indian baskets. The current condition of the collection will be assessed and documented, accession records established, appraisal and photographic documentation of the collection completed.

K.N.O.T. (Knowledge to Nurture Our Traditions) is a program that will support demonstration workshops offered at the 2017 California Indian Basketweavers’ Association annual gathering at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles on June 23-25, 2017. Because of its location, it will be one of the largest gatherings in recent history. Workshop support through the Living Cultures award will provide for increased knowledge among the weavers and appreciation of their artistic skills by the public.