The Apache tribe have long been known for the exquisite basket work. Requiring more than just skill, basket weaving for the Apache required imagination and artistry as they wove everything from practical tools to baby carriers, food and water carriers, and more.

Apache women made the baskets from thin sticks of willow, cottonwood, or sumac which they stitched together with split sticks of the same material. The split pieces became flexible when soaked in water for a while. To add color, they used the devil's claw plant for red and the bark of the yucca root for red. To some of their baskets, they added buckskin fringes and painted designs. For carrying water, the women made a bottle-shaped basket and then covered the outside of it with pitch (tree sap) to keep them water-tight.

Photo by Edward S. Curtis, 1907. Vintage image restored by Kathy Weiser-Alexander.