The Sheldon Jackson Museum March artifact of the month is a beautiful lidded willow root basket. The basket is one of seven incredible examples of Athabascan willow root and birch bark basketry generously donated to the museum last summer.
Late one afternoon in July 2024, Oregon residents Ina Jean Wagner and Vonnie R. Goche-Vilandre disembarked from their cruise ship and made their way to the Sheldon Jackson Museum carrying a carefully packed box. The two women brought an amazing array of willow root and birch bark basketry to the museum to donate in memory of their mother, Ina E. Goche-Matthews.
Ms. Goche-Matthews and her husband Riley Matthews met at the Alaska Native Medical Center Hospital while working together in the kitchen and then relocated to Shageluk, a village north of Holy Cross and to the East of Anvik and the Yukon River in 1970. During their time there, Ina acquired a beautiful assortment of finely woven baskets, mostly through trade. Ms. Goche-Vilandre and Wagner wanted to bring the basketry back home to Alaska.
The March artifact of the month was exquisitely woven by Thelma Deacon of Holy Cross in 1965. The museum does not have any information on Thelma Deacon, unfortunately. If you have information about her or her life, please contact the curator to share details.
The basket features a colorful design, still beautiful despite fading. A 16-pointed star adorns the lid and a pattern of tulip-like flowers with green stems interspersed with elongated diamonds wrap around the basket. The museum has eight Athabascan willow root baskets with colorful geometric designs and elaborate diamond and v-patterns, including a basketry box and several basketry trays, but no basketry with charming flowers like these rendered with dyed willow root.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum cares for twenty-one Athabascan baskets. You can see the March artifact of the month and other examples of Athabascan artifacts at the museum. Except for holidays, the Sheldon Jackson Museum is currently open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 am-4 pm. General admission is $8, $7 for seniors and free for ages 18 and under and for active military and their families.
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