COILED BASKET MAKING AMONG THE THOMPSON 
BANDS *® 
The Thompson are at the present time, and probably were in the 
past, the most prolific producers of coiled imbricated basketry of all 
the tribes comprising the Salish group, where it is supposed that the 
art had its origin. 
Since specimens of their work have been so abundant, thereby 
affording excellent material for study, the bulk of this work has 
been based upon Thompson data, most of which were collected by 
Mr. James A. Teit, who made his home among that tribe for many 
years. 
To alarge extent the manufacture seems to have depended on the 
location in which the people made their homes, as well as upon their 
other occupations, which were more or less controlled by the condi- 
tions under which they lived. Certain parts of the country, as, for 
instance, the Cascade region, enjoy a comparatively moist climate, 
which produces dense forest growth. Owing to the proximity of 
good salmon streams and their custom of living largely on fish, the 
people were somewhat sedentary in their habits, and because food 
was plentiful they had leisure not only in which to manufacture 
baskets for the immediate needs of the household but to develop 
for these an artistic decoration which satisfied their love of the 
beautiful. Materials of the best quality for these purposes grew in 
abundance right at hand. 
Somewhat similar conditions prevailed in the country of the Coeur 
d’Aléne, who manufactured many baskets in early times. However, 
as will be seen in the course of our discussions, unfavorable environ- 
ment does not prevent the manufacture of baskets. On the other 
hand, data from other parts of the world prove that an abundance of 
material and ample leisure in which to develop an art do not always 
succeed in producing it. 
In the more arid and sparsely wooded sections basketry materials 
were scarce and of inferior quality and had to be sought far off in the 
mountains or obtained by barter. The people depended less on fish 
for a livelihood and were more nomadic in their habits. In such 
regions bags, which were perhaps better adapted for travel, together 
with bark vessels of a more or less temporary nature, were often 
used in place of baskets. 
‘ For information already published on the basketry of the region, see Teit, ‘The Thompson Indians 
of British Columbia,” pp. 187-188; Teit, ‘‘The Lillooet Indians,’ pp. 205-209; Teit, ‘‘The Shuswap,” 
pp. 487-488; and appendix to this, ‘‘ Notes on the Chilcotin Indians,”’ pp. 765-774, all in Jesup N. Pac. 
Exp., vol. Il; Farrand, “‘ Basketry Designs of the Salish Indians,’ Jesup N. Pac. Exp., vol. I; Otis T. 
Mason, Aboriginal American Basketry, Rept. U. 8. Nat. Mus. for 1902, Washington, 1904. 
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