Weaving Alliances with Other Women

Chitimacha Indian Work in the New South

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Art History, American, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Native American Studies, History
Cover of the book Weaving Alliances with Other Women by Daniel H. Usner, University of Georgia Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Daniel H. Usner ISBN: 9780820348476
Publisher: University of Georgia Press Publication: October 15, 2015
Imprint: University of Georgia Press Language: English
Author: Daniel H. Usner
ISBN: 9780820348476
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Publication: October 15, 2015
Imprint: University of Georgia Press
Language: English

River-cane baskets woven by the Chitimachas of south Louisiana are universally admired for their beauty and workmanship. Recounting friendships that Chitimacha weaver Christine Paul (1874–1946) sustained with two non-Native women at different parts of her life, this book offers a rare vantage point into the lives of American Indians in the segregated South.

Mary Bradford (1869–1954) and Caroline Dormon (1888–1971) were not only friends of Christine Paul; they were also patrons who helped connect Paul and other Chitimacha weavers with buyers for their work. Daniel H. Usner uses Paul’s letters to Bradford and Dormon to reveal how Indian women, as mediators between their own communities and surrounding outsiders, often drew on accumulated authority and experience in multicultural negotiation to forge new relationships with non-Indian women.

Bradford’s initial interest in Paul was philanthropic, while Dormon’s was anthropological. Both certainly admired the artistry of Chitimacha baskets. For her part, Paul saw in Bradford and Dormon opportunities to promote her basketry tradition and expand a network of outsiders sympathetic to her tribe’s vulnerability on many fronts. As Usner explores these friendships, he touches on a range of factors that may have shaped them, including class differences, racial attitudes, and shared ideals of womanhood. The result is an engaging story of American Indian livelihood, identity, and self-determination.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

River-cane baskets woven by the Chitimachas of south Louisiana are universally admired for their beauty and workmanship. Recounting friendships that Chitimacha weaver Christine Paul (1874–1946) sustained with two non-Native women at different parts of her life, this book offers a rare vantage point into the lives of American Indians in the segregated South.

Mary Bradford (1869–1954) and Caroline Dormon (1888–1971) were not only friends of Christine Paul; they were also patrons who helped connect Paul and other Chitimacha weavers with buyers for their work. Daniel H. Usner uses Paul’s letters to Bradford and Dormon to reveal how Indian women, as mediators between their own communities and surrounding outsiders, often drew on accumulated authority and experience in multicultural negotiation to forge new relationships with non-Indian women.

Bradford’s initial interest in Paul was philanthropic, while Dormon’s was anthropological. Both certainly admired the artistry of Chitimacha baskets. For her part, Paul saw in Bradford and Dormon opportunities to promote her basketry tradition and expand a network of outsiders sympathetic to her tribe’s vulnerability on many fronts. As Usner explores these friendships, he touches on a range of factors that may have shaped them, including class differences, racial attitudes, and shared ideals of womanhood. The result is an engaging story of American Indian livelihood, identity, and self-determination.

More books from University of Georgia Press

Cover of the book Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Long Green by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Natchez Country by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book A Curse upon the Nation by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book The Black Newspaper and the Chosen Nation by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Thieves I've Known by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book The Nashville Way by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Sounding the Color Line by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Brothers and Friends by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book The Imaginary Lives of Mechanical Men by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book All My Relations by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Black Elvis by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Daring to Write by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture by Daniel H. Usner
Cover of the book The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary by Daniel H. Usner
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy