Tina Charlie

Tina Charlie (born Tina Jim in

basketweaver. Affiliated with the Kucadikadi tribe, she wove baskets for her own use and that of others in the tribe.^[1] An innovative weaver, she incorporated materials and motifs that were not common in the Mono Lake Paiute basketweaving tradition. In the 1920s, she produced fancy three-rod woven baskets for non-Indian markets and continued making them until her death. In the 1880s, she married Young Charlie, a Paiute man from Yosemite. She was married to the same man as her sister, Nellie. She lived with her sister for the rest of her life, and they likely influenced each other's craft.^[1]

In 2006, one of Tina Charlie's baskets sold for a then-record price of $336,250, three times the presale estimate. Another of her baskets sold for $248,250. Both were collected by Ella Cain of Bridgeport, California in the 1920s, and were formerly displayed at the Bridgeport Museum.^[2]

Work

Tina Charlie is recognized as an innovative weaver for her finely crafted baskets. She received recognition during the Yosemite Indian Field Days, for which she was known to enter baby baskets. Competitive events such as these would allow her to earn additional income and reputation.

bracken fern root as the main sewing material, and patterned with buff-colored sedge root and red-brown split redbud. Her motifs were derived by adapting patterns from the Maidu tradition.^[1]