Handed Down - Nevada Arts Council

1995–1996
Paiute Cradleboards:
Clara Castillo and Jessica Lake
On a sunny day in late fall, when most of the trees
have lost their leaves on the Walker River Paiute
Reservation outside of Schurz, basket maker Clara
Castillo walks along the bank of an irrigation ditch
peering into the willow thickets. She says the willows
look good and healthy, not weakened by drought or
pesticides, and pulls out a pair of garden shears to start
cutting the long straight branches, about as big around
as a pencil. These willows will form the back (or box
spring, as she says) of a cradleboard for Jessica Lake’s
next baby.
Jessica has raised her other two children in cradleboards
that were bought from other makers, but she has
always been interested in learning the art herself and
finally found a willing teacher in Clara. Both women
are natives of Schurz and Clara has known Jessica since
she was a little girl 30 years ago. Clara’s mother was a
basket maker, but Clara says most of what she knows
she’s taught herself. She makes round baskets as well
as cradleboards, but just for her family. Jessica was surrounded
by basket making and other traditions growing
up on the reservation, but did not have any immediate
family members to teach her.
Back in the willow patch the two women are cutting
about 60 willows for the back of the cradleboard.
A few weeks earlier they had cut some smaller willows
to make the curved hood, and Jessica had been working
on scraping the bark off of them. The willows must
be cleaned within a few days of cutting because after
that the bark gets very hard to remove. When they have
enough, they go back to Jessica’s house
and begin cleaning the willows. After
removing the branches and buds, Clara
holds a small knife in the palm of her
hand and scrapes up and down the willow
with a practiced briskness. Thin curls
of reddish bark pile on the ground around
her feet and soon the branch is smooth
and white. Jessica has a lot of work ahead
of her to get all the willows this clean.
The most difficult part of preparing the willows is
splitting those that will be used to weave the back and
hood together. Those willows have the bark left on as
they dry for a week or two, and then they are split into
three lengthwise strings. Clara takes one of the freshly
cut willows, splits the tip into three parts, holds one
strand in her mouth and uses her hands to peel the
branch apart into three even strands. She makes it look
easy, but Jessica knows it takes years of practice. Still,
for her it will be worth it, especially when she is able
to teach her own children this unique art form of their
people.
Jessica Lake
returns from cutting
willows for a
cradleboard.
Clara Castillo pulls the pithy
core out of a split willow string,
which will then be used to
weave willows together into a
cradleboard.
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