AKOKISAS ART AND HISTORY PROGRAM
The Akokisas began a local art and history program in 2010 with the help of money gotten from the
Daughters of the American Revolution and some other organizations. We began with classes in
basketry, pottery, beading and some other skills.
At this time our program continues with summer classes for children and teenagers. There are also
programs for senior citizens. Classes for working adults sometimes occur in the evening.
Our goal is to educate our people in their history and culture.
BASKETRY
Our honored teacher of basketry is Ms. Lucy LeBeau. She has taught basketry since the program’s
inception. We make baskets of split river cane, pine needles and other materials.
Split cane baskets are what was historically associated with the Atakapa. The designs which we use are
copied from the designs on our archeological pottery. There is reason to believe that these designs
were once associated with specific family groups – the women of a family wove a particular pattern
which was associated with that family group. We have found at archeological sites potsherds whose
designs we have been able to match to basket designs used around 1900. We are actively seeking
potsherd designs from the Gulf coast area as well as photos of historic basketry designs in an attempt to
match known basket designs with those on archeological pottery. We also use designs found on
archeological pottery as decoration on other arts and crafts items such as beading.
Cane is gathered in the late fall and allowed to cure in a dry place over the winter. We then split the
cane, dye it and weave it. Dyes we use are Rite dye. In the old days people used natural dyes but those
are time consuming and messy so today we use commercial dye. With natural dyes one has to be
prepared to stir a pot for several days while with natural dye it can be done in a few hours. The colors
we use most often are black, red, white and natural cane color.
The following is a basket woven in the arts program. It is not a traditional design. The design was
chosen by the weaver because it looked like an easy pattern for a beginner.
This is a historic Atakapa basket. Notice the plaited edge around the rim. This seems to be frequently
done on Atakapa baskets.
Historic Atakapa Basket made around 1900
Probably there were originally red, black and natural color stripes but they have faded with time.
This is a replica of a historic Atakapa basket woven by Ms. Lucy of the Akokisas in 2009. Notice that she
has also plaited the rim of her basket as is traditional with Atakapa baskets. .
The following are historic Atakapa baskets from the Wilson Museum. Colors may have faded as
these are old and natural dyes may not remain bright. Again they have the rim which is
common to Atakapa basketry. Probably the basket with the handle in the top photo originally
had a red stripe around the middle but it has faded.
Baskets once were part of the everyday kitchen ware of a household. Used to sift flour and corn
meal. Used when picking veggies in the garden. Used when picking berries. Used to store
produce and many other uses. Our grandmothers needed an assortment of baskets.
BEADWORK
Traditional beadwork in the southeastern USA is done by the double needle method using tiny
seed beads (size 12, 14, etc.) This is a different style of beading than that which the western
nations bead which uses larger beads and different method of sewing beads on.
Beadwork was used to decorate regalia and ceremonial items. The designs we use today are
taken from historic photos or copies from designs on archeological items from the gulf coast
area. Often our designs are geometrics and very stylized animals common to the area.
Frog designs are popular as are tadpoles, fish and other aquatic themes. Ducks, geese, cranes
and other bird designs are also popular.
Below are wristbands which were made in our summer children’s program. The designs are
copied from potsherds which were found on the east side of Galveston Bay.
The design in the wristband on top is tadpoles swimming in a bayou. The brown tadpoles move
through the blue water. The green at the bottom is the bottom of the bayou. The design on
the green wristband at the bottom of the photo is taken from a piece of pottery from an
archeological site near Crosby, Texas. Elaine James created the first wristband and M. LeBlanc
did the green one.
This design is also copied from a potsherd found in the area east of Galveston Bay.
Following are other designs which are identified as coming from the gulf coast. This does not
mean that they are Atakapa but this is our cultural group. The first design is frogs. At first
glance it doesn’t look like a frog but to understand this, the frog is seen sticking the top of its
head out of water. You see only its eyes and the top of its head in this depiction.
Another gulf coast design depicts bird tracks.
Our ancestors depicted the things which they saw around them every day – frogs, birds,
alligators, snakes and other creatures they shared the land with.
People in the beading classes have also made bandoliers of the type which men wore as part of
their regalia in the past. Bandoliers are made of wool and have beaded designs embroidered
onto them.
People also embroider moccasins and other apparel used for special occasion.
We have made jewelry with beads but there are no special designs which we regard as Atakapa.
We are working on a project to use pearls and shells in beading. We have been able to obtain
limited quantities of pearls from oystermen along the Texas coast. We are experimenting with
designs which would use these as personal decoration in hair and sewn onto clothing. There is
evidence that women long ago wore pearl decorations in their hair. There also have been
found what may be shell beads which were sewn onto dresses in which women long ago were
buried. These women were probably buried in their regalia and thus it seems their regalia was
heavily decorated with carved shell beads and sometimes with Gulf of Mexico pearls.
An example of this is a women whose dress apparently had multiple rows of shell beads around
its hem. She had a skirt whose bottom 8 inches was covered with shell beads. Her blouse was
separate and its hem was also heavily decorated with shell beads. It must have been a very
lovely dress. It is thought that the dress was made of backcloth which is somewhat like linen.
She must have been a rich woman as carving all those beads would have taken a lot of effort.
Today we don’t dig graves anymore. That was dug up in the 1950s. It is not right to disturb the
dead and so that is no longer done. I will not include a photo here because it would not be
right to show a dress on the skeleton of an ancestor laying in her grave. That was dug up a long
time ago and she has since been reburied as is appropriate. Still her dress must have been
lovely and it inspires modern people to want to make something like it.
Other shell carvings were made to be worn in women’s hair on special occasion. These were
called “moons” and they were shell carvings about the size of a silver dollar. Sometimes there
was a hole in the middle through which a pin was passed to hold the decoration in place.
The Akokisas have a beginning project to carve some shells. We are just getting started so we
don’t yet have any shell arts which we want to show at this time. However we can show you
shell carvings found in southeast Texas which our ancestors did.
This depicts panther and red hawk – both significant religious symbols. Red hawk was seen as
the messenger of Creator. Panther also had spiritual significance.
This carving was done on the inside of a shell and then cut out. The holes were a means by
which the woman would have tied this into her hair for dress up occasion. Or it could have
been worn as a pendant. However it is known that historic Native women wore these in their
hair so that is the most likely use.
As the arts program is discovering, the carving of seashells is not that easy. One wants the
inside of the shell which is mother of pearl. It is flakey and hard to hold in position even with a
good vice. One needs to wear a mask when carving as the dust is probably harmful. Some in
the arts program have been trying to carve beads out of seashells. We have been able to
obtain a limited amount of gulf coast pearls and have also been working with using these in
decorative design. Gulf coast pearls are not the milky white of Japanese pearls. Ours are the
colors of the shells which you see on the beach – the colors of oysters native to this area.
POTTERY
One of our first programs taught pottery. Pottery is made from the black clay which is found in
this area. We collect our clay from the earth. It is then dried and sifted to remove any foreign
debris – pebbles, twigs, etc. Then the clay is wetted and kneaded until ready. Most of our
pottery is cast by the coil method. It is dried for at least a week – it must be thoroughly dry –
and then it is fired in a pit firing.
Below is an example of a cup which was made in our program. The dark blotches on the side of
the cup are called firing clouds and are the result of its having been pit fired.
Pottery is made in all the traditional designs. Everything from this simple cup to effigy pots to
pots for pretty much any use – cooking, storage, ceremony, etc.
INCOMPLETE AT THIS TIME