Hopi Yucca Sifter by Kevin Navasie (Hopi)

Kevin Navasie achieved the dramatic look of this sifter basket by dying some of the yucca splints dark purple while leaving the rest in their natural color, so that the contrast in their colors accentuates the intricate geometric pattern that he wove.  He used a thin branch tied into a ring for the support around the rim.

Sifters are the most utilitarian baskets woven by the Hopi.  They are used for winnowing corn and beans, and for storing foods such as apples, wild spinach or beans.  Yucca leaves are gathered, stripped of excess fibers, and then split into splints of even widths.  The outside of the split leaf is naturally a yellow to green color, and the inside almost white, providing contrast in the two directions of the plaiting. Sometimes they are dyed with natural or commercial dyes.  The splints are then plaited into a square, woven loosely enough that it is flexible.  Once it is the right size, the unwoven edges of the square are pulled through a ring of branches tied into a circle, or a metal ring.  In order to turn this square into a circle, some of the splints at the corners are left outside the ring.  The ends are then folded over the ring and stitched to the basket using finely split yucca as a thread.  Where the corner pieces are on the outside, the inside ones are woven over them on the outside to hold them down.

Width 14", depth 2 1/4"