Tina Charlie facts for kids
Tina Charlie (born Tina Jim in Mono Lake, California; 1869–1962) was a talented Native North American basket weaver. She belonged to the Kucadikadi tribe. Tina made baskets for her own family and for others in her tribe. She was very creative and used special materials and designs that were new for her tribe's basket weaving style.
In the 1920s, Tina started making beautiful, fancy baskets to sell to people outside her community. She continued making these unique baskets until she passed away. In the 1880s, she married Young Charlie, a Paiute man from Yosemite. Interestingly, her sister, Nellie Charlie, was also married to the same man. Tina and Nellie lived together for their whole lives, and they probably learned a lot from each other's weaving skills.
In 2006, one of Tina Charlie's baskets sold for a huge amount of money, $336,250! This was a record price at the time. Another one of her baskets sold for $248,250. Both of these special baskets were collected by Ella Cain in the 1920s. They used to be on display at the Bridgeport Museum.
Tina's Amazing Baskets
Tina Charlie is known as a very creative weaver because of her beautifully made baskets. She became famous at the Yosemite Indian Field Days, where she often entered her baby baskets into competitions. These events helped her earn extra money and become well-known for her art.
She created some of the first baskets with a special "negative" pattern. She showed these at the Yosemite Indian Field Days in 1925 and 1926. These baskets had dark, black backgrounds. She used black-dyed bracken fern root for the main weaving material. The patterns on these baskets were made with light-colored sedge root and reddish-brown split redbud plant. Tina got her design ideas by changing patterns from the Maidu tribe's traditions.
Where Her Art Was Shown
Tina Charlie's baskets were shown in many places! Here are some of the exhibitions where her amazing work was displayed:
- Bishop Harvest Days, Bishop, California (1916)
- Indian Field Days, Yosemite Valley, California (1925)
- Indian Field Days, Yosemite Valley, California (1926)
- Indian Field Days, Yosemite Valley, California (1929)
- Wai-Pai-Shone Trading Post, Stewart, Nevada (1930s)
- Mono County Museum, Bridgeport, California (1970-1988)
- Yosemite Museum, Yosemite National Park, California (1971-1996)
Where Her Art Is Kept
You can find Tina Charlie's baskets in these important collections:
- Redding Museum and Art Center, Redding, California
- Yosemite Museum, National Park Service, Yosemite National Park
