Matilda Borden liked to pour a cup of tea to display her basket making expertise, proving her cups made from material gathered in British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 forests were watertight, says her granddaughter Brenda Crabtree.

Not one drop would leak, recalls Crabtree, who is also a basket-making artist and Aboriginal programs director at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver.

害羞草研究所淪he was showing off and it害羞草研究所檚 really, truly the mark of a master weaver,害羞草研究所� she said of her grandmother who died in 1975.

Among First Nations, basket weavers have always been held in high regard, said John Haugen of the Nlaka害羞草研究所檖amux Nation from B.C.害羞草研究所檚 Fraser Canyon.

害羞草研究所淚f you were a good basket maker and somebody else wanted your baskets they would have food to trade with you or other items.害羞草研究所�

Now the baskets are gaining more notice than just being functional works of art.

Canada recognized Nlaka害羞草研究所檖amux basket making for its national historic significance this month with a ceremony at Lytton, about 265 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

害羞草研究所淗istoric designations reflect Canada害羞草研究所檚 rich and varied history and I encourage all Canadians to learn more about Nlaka害羞草研究所檖amux basket making and its important contributions to Canada害羞草研究所檚 heritage,害羞草研究所� said Jati Sidhu, Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon MP, on behalf of Catherine McKenna, the minister responsible for Parks Canada.

Andrea Laforet, retired director of ethnology and cultural studies at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, said the making, use and trading of coiled basketry has been part of the history of the Indigenous Peoples of the southern Interior of B.C. and parts of Washington state for centuries, if not thousands of years.

害羞草研究所淟ike many of the utilitarian objects made in Indigenous societies in B.C., they are also works of art,害羞草研究所� said Laforet, who attended the ceremony in Lytton.

The baskets served as vital trade commodities for Indigenous Peoples in the Fraser Canyon area before and following contact with non-Indigenous people, Haugen said.

害羞草研究所淲e knew we were prolific basket makers and our baskets were traded outside of our nation prior to contact,害羞草研究所� said Haugen, who said war canoes from Vancouver Island made the voyage up the Fraser River to Spuzzum on trade missions.

The baskets made by Nlaka害羞草研究所檖amux women provided economic support for families and communities from about 1850 to 1930 when they were traded in nearby non-Indigenous communities, he said.

Today, the baskets are on display in museums around the world and are coveted pieces at auctions, said Haugen, whose aunts were well-known basket makers, and his mother was an avid collector who often helped local people sell their work to collectors.

Borden was also part of the Nlaka害羞草研究所檖amux Nation, and Crabtree said some of her earliest memories are of helping her grandmother harvest, process and weave cedar roots and bark into baskets.

害羞草研究所淚 love the fact that this form of basketry has been recognized as really, truly, technically amazing,害羞草研究所� she said.

She said the baskets served as items for cooking, storing and transporting food as well as being expressions of art by local women.

害羞草研究所淲e never really developed a pottery complex in the northwest coast because we didn害羞草研究所檛 need it,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淧eople think how can you cook with just a cedar root basket? Well, you fill them with water and put hot rocks from fires into the basket. It would steam the food.害羞草研究所�

Crabtree said her most recent works of basketry include cultural commentary woven into the object. She said one of her baskets includes the residential school policy statement: 害羞草研究所滽ill the Indian in the child.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 really using our baskets now as a vehicle for a discussion related to aboriginal identity and contemporary issues,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淭hey can hold water, cook, and have an added message.害羞草研究所�

Retired ethnobotanist Nancy Turner, who wrote extensively about Interior basket making, said the baskets embodied the lifestyle of the Interior peoples.

害羞草研究所淭hey say if you are making a basket you should never be in a bad mood,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淵ou should never get angry. You should be of good mind because the basket you are making will pick up on your own sense of well being.害羞草研究所�

Turner said students soon learned her courses in basket making were not as easy as imagined.

害羞草研究所淧eople will sometimes talk about 害羞草研究所楤asket Making 101害羞草研究所� if you害羞草研究所檙e taking a simple course at university, but when I taught ethnobotany at University of Victoria, I had the students do a making-things project,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淭he students soon learned it害羞草研究所檚 not at all simple.害羞草研究所�

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press

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