Documenting Mohawk Basketry Traditions: A Preservation Assessment and Workshop Project

FAIN: PG-51196-11

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (Akwesasne, NY 13655-3109)
Leslie K. Benedict (Project Director: May 2010 to November 2012)

A preservation assessment of the institution's archival holdings pertaining to Mohawk black ash basketry, along with an on-site workshop on collections care. The collection, comprising over 1,400 linear feet of historical records, chronicles modern-day efforts of the Mohawk community to preserve black ash trees as well as the significance of these trees in basketry traditions. Included are research reports, correspondence between tribe members and environmental scientists, financial records, and over 3,000 photographs of the black ash harvesting process and the work of individual basket makers.

To conduct a preservation assessment for a historical collection of manuscripts, unbound books, drawings, and other documents and photos, CDs and maps associated with Mohawk black ask basketry.