Hopi coiled baskets are made only in the villages of Second Mesa. The most common type of coiled basket is the plaque. These flat baskets, typically featuring Kachina or animal images woven into them, are used to express gratitude. If someone does you a favor, you thank them with a basket. If they help put together a wedding ensemble, they might be thanked with multiple baskets. If a young person is seen doing an act of kindness, they will likely be gifted a basket.

In the early 1900s, Hopi women began making baskets for the growing tourist market. The Fred Harvey Company was building hotels along the railroad lines and running “Harvey Car” tours into “Indian Country.”

I used to tell people that we really didn’t sell many Native baskets, basically the few Navajo Ceremonial of Wedding baskets that someone would bring in or some older baskets that we got from collections.