Ada Thomas (July 31, 1924 – September 6, 1992) was a

Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the s ...

n basket weaver who excelled in double-weave, split

rivercane ''Arundinaria gigantea'' is a species of bamboo known as giant cane (not to be confused with ''Arundo donax''), river cane, and giant river cane. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States as far west as Oklahoma and Texas ...

basketry. She was honored as a

National Heritage Fellow The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federa ...

in 1983. Examples of her weaving are housed in the permanent collections of the

Birmingham Museum of Art The Birmingham Museum of Art is a museum in Birmingham, Alabama. It has one of the most extensive collections of artwork in the Southeastern United States, with more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts repr ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 100 ...

and the

Museum of International Folk Art The Museum of International Folk Art is a state-run institution in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It is one of many cultural institutions operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. History The museum was founded by Floren ...

, among others.

Early life

Ada Vilcan was born on July 31, 1924, on the Chitimacha Reservation, near

Charenton, Louisiana Charenton (historically french: Lieu-des-Chetimachas) is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,903 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area. A ...

, to Jane Bernard and Henry Vilcan. The fourth child in the family, her siblings were Alvin, Hollansworth, Esta/Esther, Raymond and Janet. Through the eighth grade, Thomas attended the reservation elementary school, where she also learned the Chitimacha

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making basket ...

techniques from elders,

Christine Navarro Paul Christine Navarro Paul (December 28, 1874 – 1946), a member of the Native Americans in the United States, Native American Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, was a celebrated Basket weaving, basket maker and teacher. Beginning in her 20s, she l ...

and her sister-in-law Pauline. The baskets woven by Chitimacha women are unique in that the patterns on the inside and outside are different, as two separate baskets are woven and joined at the rim. Using split cane, known locally as ''

piya The ''Piya'' (; "Increased ra") was a Chinese dictionary compiled by Song Dynasty scholar Lu Dian ( 陸佃/陆佃, 1042-1102). He wrote this ''Erya'' supplement along with his ''Erya Xinyi'' (爾雅新義 "New Exegesis of the ''Erya''") comment ...

'', dyed with natural walnut, "la passiance" plant root and lime to produce the traditional black, red and yellow colors, the strips are woven to produce designs of traditional animals of the bayou. Alligators, blackbird's and cow's eyes, hearts,

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

, snakes, and turtles are recurring motifs. The plain interior basket is woven first and once the rim is reached, the basket is turned and woven from the rim back to the bottom bringing in the colored design.

Career

After graduating from the reservation school, Vilcan moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Great Depression when she left the area, had been replaced by prosperity with the growth in the oil industry. While the growth helped her tribal people economically, it also led to abandonment of their traditional crafts. Determined to save their unique basket weaving techniques, Thomas partnered with Stephen Richmond of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board to prepare a show held at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of countie ...

. Richmond helped her secure funds to teach others the techniques, though she had little success in the early days. In 1983, she was one of the artisans honored as a

by the

. Thomas taught basket weaving techniques at schools in Charenton and attended many festivals, like the

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

and the Folklife Festival hosted by the Smithsonian, to both show her works and demonstrate the craft. In her later years, she produced works primarily for privately held collections and museums.

Death and legacy

Thomas died on September 6, 1992, in Charenton. Examples of her weaving are housed in the permanent collections of the

, the Louisiana Folklife Program, the

, the

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

and the collections of the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the m ...

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* reprinted in * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ada 1924 births 1992 deaths Chitimacha People from St. Mary Parish, Louisiana Native American basket weavers American weavers 20th-century Native American artists 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists National Heritage Fellowship winners 20th-century Native American women