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| Mary Louise Burris, and baskets c. 1920 |
Among Monos and neighbors of other tribes, baskets were
highly prized as gifts and were also offered in trade for goods and services. Even while the white culture displaced Indian
lives, land and livelihoods, their appreciation for the beauty and stunning craftsmanship of native arts grew. Basket sales
increasingly became a source of income—and a key to economic survival—for the most skillful native artisans and
their families.
Lena first acquired “family” baskets from
her mother and grandmother. Her grandmother, pictured below, is reputed to have been born shortly after the turn of the
19th century, and having lived to an age of well over 110 years, was known as a prolific and highly respected weaver. In time,
Lena received more baskets as gifts from her many friends and later some as unclaimed “pawned” collateral from
informal loans she made to individuals in her community.
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Lena's collection, like
her family, grew over the years and eventually baskets were shared among her daughters, Mary Louise and Peggy Jayne, and her
only grandchild, me. Within our family, baskets were honored as living things. Lena’s stories of their manufacture,
symbology and discriptions of how they were used made every basket a precious touchstone to our long-passed relatives and
our proud Mono heritage.
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| Lena, Hazel Kelly (l), and daughters, Peggy Jayne (l) and Mary Louise (r) at Bass Lake c.1924 |
With the passing of Lena in 1989 and Peggy in 2004, the
once disbursed Hemmer Collection has been reunited. Its been my privilege to care for, get to know and record the particulars
of each piece.
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| Lena's grandmother and baby Mary Louise c. 1916 |
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| Lena's great-granddaughter, Mary Ann H. Burris enjoys a Mono basket experience, 2005. |
This virtual gallery is intended as a tribute
to Mono and other native artists of the Americas who, while no longer with us, live on in their timeless creations of organic
purity, stunning precision and profound soul.
These pages are also my expression of thanks to
the Hemmer women who have made my life and that of my own family possible. For all of them and their legacy of love, creativity
and pride in our family’s origins, I am forever grateful. In this spirit, it is my pleasure to share images of some
of these gifts with you.
James E.H. Burris
Curator, The
Hemmer Collection
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