From tree to basket, students learn everything from this master weaver
A tree is where a basket starts. For Terry Young, teaching people to make baskets also means teaching them about about trees. See what CBC contributor Ann Paul learned from one of Young's workshops.
Baskets are made using black ash and sweetgrass
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Terry Young, who's from Kingsclear First Nation but now lives in Montreal, has been making baskets for 25 years. (Ann Paul/CBC)
For Terry Young, teaching people to make baskets also means teaching people about trees.
A tree is where a basket starts. Wooden strips are pounded from black ash, which are then woven together. Sometimes, Young also weaves in sweetgrass, which he either gathers himself or buys from people in the community.
It's something Young, a basket-maker from Kingsclear First Nation, grew up learning from the women in his family. Now living in Montreal, Young's been making baskets for 25 years.
Terry Young’s basket-making workshops spare no detail. He teaches students how to make lids, how to dye the wood and how to braid in sweetgrass — a sacred plant in many Indigenous communities. (Ann Paul/CBC)
He's been teaching six students how to make baskets over the course of five weekends. Since Young is teaching them how to make baskets from "beginning to end," the art of basket making can't be taught in one short session.
CBC contributor Ann Paul visited one of Young's workshops. Scroll through her photos and watch the video to get a glimpse into the art of weaving trees into baskets.
‘It wasn’t just teaching somebody how to make baskets. It was showing them the whole life of a basket.’ Ann Paul said. ‘He taught them about how the tree grew, about all the different layers of the tree, how the tree was pounded from the ash. He taught them about how you treat the ash afterwards’ (Ann Paul/CBC)
WATCH | See how a tree becomes a basket:
Ann’s Eye: Master basket-maker Terry Young teaches people how to make a basket from beginning to end
2 years ago
Duration 5:03
Basket-making apprentices are spending five weekends in Kingsclear First Nation learning the art of weaving together wood pounded from a tree.
Years ago, baskets were made for more practical reasons, like gathering plants and medicines. Today, Ann Paul said they can be used for almost anything. Some people use them for jewelry, some to gather fiddleheads. She herself uses one, a gift from Terry Young that she dyed turquoise, to store her tobacco offerings. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Ann Paul said she’s seen Terry Young’s baskets in many places. ‘They’re everywhere. He even makes baskets you can hang in your bathroom for combs. He makes baskets in the shapes of strawberries and blueberries and corn. It’s artwork.’ (Ann Paul/CBC)
Ann Paul said Terry Young is a master in basket making — though he wouldn’t call himself that. People want to learn from him because there aren’t many people to learn this stuff from anymore, Paul added. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Terry Young buys sweetgrass and supplies from people in the community, Ann Paul said. Then people buy Young’s baskets. ‘It’s like a circle of livelihood,’ Paul said. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Ann's Eye
Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work.
