Basketry

Although basketmakers live throughout North Carolina, historically the greatest concentration of them lived in the Appalachian mountains. Because basketry is one of the oldest crafts in the world, most settlers to the New America were used to the baskets they bought in Europe, usually made of willow. Since North Carolina's climate is not conducive to willow trees, colonists either had to rely on trade or their own skills in making baskets. Since coastal residents lived close enough to the ports, they could import baskets from Europe. The Algonquin Indians in Onslow and Jacksonville probably made baskets from ash trees before the new settlers came. Appalachian settlers, however, were fairly isolated from trade routes and so relied on trade with the American Indians or their abilities to use the materials the land had to offer.

The Appalachian mountains were home to two groups of basketmakers: the American Indians and the Scottish, English and German settlers. As pottery differed between these two groups, so did baskets. Indians wove very decorative baskets out of rivercane. Usually they would weave or paint patterns on the basket representing tribal beliefs or symbols. They also dyed their baskets with bloodroot and other roots like yarrow. As the Cherokee moved further west into other states, their basketry techniques changed based on their needs. So Choctaw baskets, based on the Cherokee tradition, were made to carry medicine and may have been smaller than the Cherokee baskets, using a different type of weave and design.

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