The History of Native American Ash Splint Potato Baskets
by Dena Lynn Winslow , Ph . D . ( From a book by Dena Winslow with the same title - Copyright 2018 the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum ).
Today ’ s iconic potato basket originated in Aroostook County and / or Western New Brunswick in the late 1800 ’ s and early 1900 ’ s , and spread to other areas from there . The baskets are made of brown ash splints and usually made by Micmac and Maliseet Indians , although Penobscots and Passamaquoddies also made them .
Native Americans in the northeast region of Maine and the Maritime Provinces in Canada have always made use of the natural resources around them . Even today , natural resources are very important to Native Americans . One of the most significant natural resources in at least the past 200 years ( and probably much longer ) – has been the black or brown ash tree ( Fraxinus nigra ) which is native to the northeast borderland region . Once abundant , the tree , and other ash tree species , are currently being threatened by an invasive insect , the Emerald Ash Borer . This emerald green insect originated in China and is thought to have come to North America on shipping pallets in about 2002 . The insect is killing this species of tree , and threatening the ash splint basket making traditions of the Native Americans in this region . As of this writing , the insect has not yet been found in Maine or New Brunswick , however it is known to be in New Hampshire and Quebec on the borders of Maine and is headed our way .
The development of ash splint potato baskets in the northeast where they originated , is not surprising since the brown ash tree they are made from grows in this same region . And , it is also where world-famous potatoes are grown . In other potato growing regions , various other things have been used to harvest potatoes , including burlap bags hooked to the waist of the picker using a belted hook device . In still other places wooden boxes have been used , and in others , wire baskets , and pails .
Much like the fur-trading economy that developed in response to Europeans two centuries earlier , the natural resource based ash splint basket economy developed among Native Americans in the northeast as a direct response to the demand for the baskets . What was originally developed for their own use among Native Americans , became a highly sought-after and marketable commodity among non-Natives . Both the fur trade and the basket trade were new economies for Native Americans of their time , but continued to be based on the natural resources available and market demand for the items .
At some point approximately 200 years ago , there was a transition from birch bark containers to ash splint baskets . This was probably a gradual shift and no doubt resulted primarily from two factors : the availability of resources ( tree species available ) to make the containers or baskets ; as well as the market for the products produced . This is not to say that birch bark containers ceased being produced , because they didn ’ t , and are still made today by a limited number of Native Americans . However , as time passed the ash splint baskets came to be more important economically than the birch bark containers .
These ash splint baskets are strong and flexible , making them ideal for potato and apple harvesting . The production of potato baskets peaked in the 1940 ’ s and 1950 ’ s when the production of potatoes in Aroostook County increased to 240,000 acres . This large number of acres required 48,000 potato pickers , and each one of them needed a potato basket to do their job .
Among the factors that lead to the creation and use of the potato basket in the northeast border region was a ready supply of brown ash , a tree species which is native to the region ; as well as the skill in making ash splint baskets the Native Americans of this region had perfected over at least the two prior centuries . The rich limestone soil in this region grew potatoes remarkably well , and eventually , the arrival of the railroad provided a means for farmers to
66 SPRING 2018