MAY 4, 2013

KLICKITAT BASKETMAKER NETTIE JACKSON DIED

Born on July 30, 1942, in The Dalles, Washington (WA), Nettie came from a family of master basket weavers. Growing up, she spent her summers with her Klickitat grandmother, Mattie Spencer Slockish, a skilled basket maker, and later watched her mother-in-law, Elsie Thomas, make baskets using materials such as beargrass and split cedar. Yet, Kuneki did not take up basket weaving until age 30. It was her mother’s wish before her death in 1972, that her daughters take up tribal traditions. Nettie co-authored a book titled The Heritage of Klickitat Basketry (1982) and was featured in the documentary film And Woman Wove It In a Basket (1989) examining the spiritual and cultural importance of basket weaving as a way for contemporary Klickitat women to reclaim their heritage. She was honored with a WA State Governor’s Heritage Award in 1992 and a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2000. She lived and died in White Swan, near Yakima, WA.

Sources:

People of the World, Washington State Arts Commission.  Retrieved 10/26/2023, People of the World (wa.gov)

Jane Gargas, “Renowned Klickitat basket maker, author, teacher dies at 70,” Yakima Herald, 5/14/2023.  Retrieved 10/26/2023, Renowned Klickitat basket maker, author, teacher dies at 70 | Test | yakimaherald.com

Photo:  Nettie Kuneki Jackson, 1991.  People of the World redcedar basket by Nettie Kuneki Jackson. Fair Use. Source: Washington State Arts Commission, 1991.