Sarah Jim Mayo
Sarah Jim Mayo | |
---|---|
Carson Valley, Utah Territory, U.S. | |
Died | December 1918 (aged 60) Gardnerville, Nevada, U.S. |
Nationality | Washoe |
Known for | Basket weaving |
Notable work | Presentation Basket |
Movement | Arts and Crafts |
Spouses |
|
Children | 4 |
Patron(s) | Margaretta Dressler |
Sarah Jim Mayo (1858 – December 1918) was a Washoe basket weaver. The daughter of the tribal leader Captain Jim Henukeha, Mayo rose to prominence in the early 1900s for her innovations in basketry. She is credited with expanding the traditionally simple Washoe baskets to include a wide palette of colors and pictorial designs. Baskets created by Mayo were delivered to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
Biography
Early life
Sarah Jim Mayo was born in 1858
Throughout her life, Mayo followed the typical Washoe
Mayo was married three times. When she was young, she married a man named Big George and had two children with him. They separated in 1888, and she soon after married a man named Tom Sanco. She and Sanco had one child together, and Mayo had another child out of wedlock. Sanco left her in 1896. In 1900, she married Captain Pete Mayo, a Washoe chief and the father of Maggie Mayo James, who would later also become a famous basket weaver. Through this marriage, she achieved considerable political influence and argued for her husband's authority based on her descent from Captain Jim.[9][10]
Baskets
Mayo's style of basket weaving was inspired by
Among her most significant innovations was the introduction of pictorial images into Washoe basketry. Between 1905 and 1910, Mayo began including representative figures into her baskets, such as "trees, butterflies, eagles, horses, houses, and arrows".[10][13] These images were placed "without concern for logic of placement or scale"; for example, she would place "equal-sized images of a horse and an eagle in opposing branches of an asymmetrical tree to create a balanced composition". This is in contrast to other weavers, who wove symmetrical geometric designs, and is regarded as "a staggering technical achievement". She also incorporated illusions into her designs, such as leaves overlapping a branch. In 1913, Mayo again expanded her pictorial designs to include humans and architecture. Her human figures were "structured on gender archetypes, contrasting male and female roles in Washoe society"; for example, men were portrayed as hunting deer, while women were portrayed gathering plants and caring for children. Mayo also included satirical images of white people into some designs, including one portrayal of "slim-waisted Victorian ladies holding parasols, standing near a fort with its American flag flying".[16] Due to the complexity of her designs, Mayo is described as having been a "master weaver".[17]
Mayo was very influential in the development of Washoe basketry. Between 1910 and 1925, most Washoe weavers imitated her pictorial images and color palette.
Wilson basket
Mayo wove her most famous basket in 1913. Dubbed the Presentation Basket, it was created for President Woodrow Wilson as a gift and political gesture to remind the United States government of the historical alliance with the Washoe.[5][3] The basket was intended as a way to entice the government to send aid to the struggling Washoe tribe, whose population had decreased to just three hundred. The Washoe did not have a reservation, and the few lands they did nominally control were already claimed by ranchers. Without a reservation, the Washoe were also forced to purchase expensive hunting and fishing licenses.[5][22]
The basket was "honey in color with dark brown and black symbols", and was coiled in the degikup style.
The basket included the following inscription:[4]
Nevada and California
Sarah, I am his daughter
Captain James, First Chief of Washoe tribe
This basket is a special curio, 1913.
In March 1914, Mayo's husband Captain Pete Mayo, the leader of the
There are two accounts of what happened to the basket upon its arrival to Washington. According to American
Soon after the basket was delivered, Congress passed a series of bills to aid the Washoe; however, it is unclear if the basket directly influenced this. Author Frank W. Porter notes that by the time the basket arrived in Washington, "Nevada's congressmen may have just introduced the bills". The legislation included the appropriation of $15,000 to the Washoe tribe, including $10,000 dollars for the purchasing of homesteading lands.
Death
Mayo died in December 1918
References
Notes
- ^ "Captain" is the term which replaced the Washoe word for chief; it is derived from the term given to railroad crew leaders.[2]
- ^ Degikup was "a large spherical shaped basket with a flat base and a small opening".[11]
- ^ It is unclear if this refers to the vice president, who holds the title president of the senate, or the president pro tempore.
- ^ Some academic works state she died in 1925[10] or 1945.[9] However, contemporary newspapers reported her death in December 1918.
Citations
- ^ a b c d "Daughter Of Old Washoe Captain Is Dead". Reno Gazette-Journal. 1918-12-20. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ a b c Cohodas 1986, p. 210.
- ^ a b c Magee 2015, p. 92.
- ^ a b c d e Porter 1990, p. 170.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kane, Jenny (January 4, 2016). "The curious case of Woodrow Wilson's missing Washoe basket". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ a b "Anthropology Curatorial Postcard". Nevada State Museum, Carson City. October 27, 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Captain Jim obituary". Gold Hill Daily News. 1868-11-25. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ a b Bataille & Lisa 2003, p. 200.
- ^ a b c Cohodas 1979, p. 47.
- ^ Online Nevada Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ Rentz, Erin. "Dat So La Lee, degikup baskets". National Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ "Dat so? Yes, Dat so la lee". The Province. 1979-09-09. p. 120. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ a b c d e Cohodas 1986, p. 212.
- ^ Feest 2001, p. 2010.
- ^ a b Cohodas 1981.
- ^ Porter 1990, p. 169.
- ^ Hattori 2009, p. 5.
- ^ "Washoe Basket on Loan to the Nevada Museum of Art" (PDF). The Haggin Museum Bulletin. 18 (3): 8. 2015. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ "Native American Polychrome Coiled Basket, Washoe". The Potomack Company. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
- ^ a b "Indian Woman, The Daughter Of Chief, Passes In Nevada". The Sacramento Bee. 1918-12-21. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ Porter 1990, p. 168.
- ^ Magee 2015, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Lamar 2010, p. 3.
- ^ Lippard 2013, p. 136.
- ^ Porter 1990, pp. 170, 172.
- ^ a b c d e Porter 1990, p. 172.
- Nevada State Journal. 1914-10-08. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
Works cited
- Bataille, Gretchen M.; Lisa, Laurie (2003). Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: ISBN 978-1-135-95586-1.
- Cohodas, Marvin (1979). Degikup: Washoe Fancy Basketry, 1895-1935. University of British Columbia.
- Cohodas, Marvin (1981). "Sarah Mayo and Her Contemporaries Representational Designs In Washoe Basketry". American Indian Art Magazine. 6 (4). Retrieved 2023-02-18 – via CaliforniaBaskets.com.
- Cohodas, Marvin (1986). The Arts of the North American Indian: Native Traditions in Evolution. New York: Hudson Hills Press. ISBN 978-0-933920-56-9.
- ISBN 978-3-00-005871-4.
- Hattori, Eugene M. (2009). "An Important Collection Returns to Nevada" (PDF). Newsletter of the Nevada State Museum, Carson City. 39 (4).
- Lamar, Cynthia Chavez (2010). Art in Our Lives: Native Women Artists in Dialogue (PDF). ISBN 978-1-934691-37-3.
- ISBN 978-1-136-18010-1.
- Magee, Catherine E. (2015). The Washoe, Tourism and Lake Tahoe Landscapes: Examining Reciprocal Effects Between Washoe Cultural Heritage and Tourism (PDF). University of Nevada, Reno.
- Porter, Frank W. (1990). The Art of Native American Basketry: A Living Legacy. New York: ISBN 978-0-313-26716-1.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-300-09331-5.
- Makley, Matthew S. (20 July 2018). The Small Shall Be Strong: A History of Lake Tahoe's Washoe Indians. Amherst: ISBN 978-1-61376-587-6.
- Matuz, Roger (1998). St. James Guide to Native North American Artists. ISBN 978-1-55862-221-0.