Vivian Garner Cottrell and the River Cane Weaving Revival

Vivian Garner Cottrell is a Cherokee National Treasure for basketweaving. We accompany her to a canebrake as she gathers the river cane she needs to turn raw nature into beautifully woven traditional baskets.

[@chico5489]

I am quarter Cherokee. I love to see the Cherokee traditions and skills kept alive. Please continue the beautiful work you do

[@peterthornton6145]

I am beginning to learn about canebrakes and how important they were to native people in the Southeast. Thank you for sharing your love of basket weaving. Your work is beautiful!

[@Opaleyesopen]

I've always called it bamboo!

[@HaphazardHomestead]

What wonderful art. That river cane is an impressive plant and I enjoyed seeing you work it into the strips. I've got no basis for digging Bloodroot, so I sure appreciate seeing someone work with it, and so well, too. It makes such beautiful colors. Thank you.

[@lumbeeboi8067]

I am Lumbee and Saponi. Thank you for this teaching, I learned one time but I forgot.

[@alexandrahenderson4368]

Watching this makes me think my family was more Cherokee than I thought. We did similar things as young children before my grandpa moved houses. Now walnuts aren’t as common

[@tbone6203]

Man i live in enc and our river cane is small- reckon why we used dogwood shoots