Pomo
Gift ("Sun") Basket 1880–1910
willow, sedge or bracken fern, clamshell beads, abalone pendants, woodpecker, oriole, quail, and unidentified bird feathers
2.75 x 15 (diameter) Illinois State Museum Condell Collection
808 838
Created as a gift, this Sun Basket would have been hung vertically inside the home and not used for domestic purpose. "The colored feathers have symbolic significance for the Pomo people: red; bravery or pride (personified by the woodpecker); green; astuteness, discretion; black; love, beauty. Its name derives from a Pomo story about the creation of the world:

"On-coye-to", initially a spirit feather, transformed into a man and separated the land from the water. After his curiosity spurred him to visit a twinkling star, he resolved to bring the light back to earth. After stealing the light source from a sacred sweat lodge, he made his way back to his own world where he hungs the brilliant light in the east. Not satisfied, he moved it slightly, evaluated its new placement and moved it again. He continues to move it to this day, never completely satisfied with its position.