Rowena Bradley

Rowena Bradley (1922-2003) was recognized as one of the most talented basket weavers in the United States, renowned from her double weave rivercane baskets which requires an intricate weaving of one basket inside the other in one continuous weave of material.

A member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, she started making baskets at age seven, learning from her mother, Nancy George Bradley (Tahtahyeh), who learned from her mother, Mary Dobson. Rowena’s mother was one of only a couple of women who knew how to make double weave baskets, an art that was later revived in the 1940’s through the efforts of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board working with the local Cherokee craft cooperative, the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual. A Qualla member, Rowena won numerous awards at the annual Cherokee Indian Fair, and her work is widely collected.

[Source: Museum Staff]