Sustaining Traditions—Digital Teachings

<p>Native artists such as Kelly Church, a fifth-generation basket maker, have relied on black ash trees to make baskets since time immemorial. Across the United States, however, these trees are being decimated by the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect. Church envisions a future when traditional knowledge keepers like herself may not be able to teach this art to the next generation. Inside this basket, she has placed a flash drive containing files that record this knowledge for her community, entrusting our museum to preserve it.</p>

Catalogue

Year
2018
Dimensions
19.7 × 10.2 × 10.2 cm (7 13/16 × 4 1/16 × 4 1/16 in.)

Artist

Kelly Church
Kelly Church

Mixed Media

Kelly Jean Church is a black ash basket maker, Woodlands style painter, birchbark biter, and educator. She lives in Michigan.

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Black Ash Teaching

Black Ash Teaching

2018 · Black ash

WW-2018-130473