“My Tsi:tsi Revisited” is an extraordinary double weave basket by Carrie Hill (Kanien’keha:ka, Akwesasne) that addresses the devastating impact of the invasive wood-boring beetle Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) on Haudenosaunee and Indigenous basketry. The beetle burrows into the Black Ash trees and the larvae feed on the inner layers of the bark leaving holes and weakening the splints. The beetle activity ruins the shiny and smooth qualities for which ash splint baskets are appreciated. Eventually, the EAB kills the tree, the preferred source for Haudenosaunee basketmakers. For Carrie Hill, “creating baskets from Black Ash has been something that goes back in my family for generations and is now being affected by this beetle.”
Carrie’s basket is made with splints damaged by the EAB. “The basket is double-walled,” Carrie explains, “to show hidden spots where the beetle eeks its way in.” A few of the fancy curls are dyed green to represent the beetle. “I’ve noticed through my travels,” Carrie shares, “the devastation evident in the dead Black Ash trees that litter the scenery and was drawn to create to speak to this again.” “Tsi:tsi” Carrie says, loosely translates from Kanien’keha (Mohawk language) to “boogey man” in English.
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribes EAB mitigation efforts are ongoing to support the survival of Black Ash trees and sustain this significant art practice, which has deep roots in the Akwesasne (Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe) community. Other Indigenous Nations in what is now Canada and Wisconsin are similarly working to manage the devastation of EAB on Ash trees.
Carrie Hill (Kanien’keha:ka, Akwesasne)
My Tsi:tsi Revisited, Double weave fancy basket, 2024
Black Ash splints, green dyed splint curls.
NYSM E-2024.21.01
