The completion of the continental railroad and the hundreds of feeder
lines connecting to it opened vast new territories and cultures to urban
dwellers. Trading posts and curio shops blossomed along many of these
routes. The mass production of the automobile further increased the
accessibility of many Indian reservations and communities. In their
effort to satisfy the demand for "authentic" Indian baskets, many basket
makers devised shortcuts and employed new materials to reduce
substantially the time required to make a basket. New designs and
shapes, modeled after non-Indian objects, were introduced. Other
basket makers, responding to the requests of anthropologists and
collectors, devoted their time and skill to making traditional baskets.
And in some cases gifted artisans such as Dat So La Lee benefited
from the patronage of wealthy whites who marketed their baskets to a
far-reaching clientele.

It is hoped that this book will demonstrate the importance of
basketry, both past and present, in the lives of Native Americans, and
will provide a basis for future research. I am indebted to each of the
contributors for taking the time to write these chapters. Their research
has drawn upon archaeological, ethnohistorical, and contemporary
information about the basketry of their respective areas and tribes.
They would be the first to say that much work remains to be done.

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