Lucy Telles
Encyclopedia
Lucy Parker Telles was a Mono Lake Paiute - Kucadikadi
(Northern Paiute
) and Southern Sierra Miwok (Yosemite Miwok) Native American
basket weaver.
. Her Indian name was Pamahas, which translates to "Meadows" in the Northern Paiute language
. Her parents were Louisa and Mack Tom. Her maternal grandparents were Mono Lake Paiute Captain Sam and Mono 'Yosemite Paiute' Susie Sam. She and her family lived in Yosemite Valley
and at Mono Lake
. As a child, Telles played near Galen Clark
's cabin. To supplement her family's income, she caught fish in the Valley to sell to hotel keepers.
Telles' first husband was Jack Parker, a Paiute. In 1902 they had a son, Lloyd Parker, but shortly after he was born, Jack died. She later married John Telles, a Mexican-American from Texas
. John worked as a truck driver and laborer for the 'Yosemite Park & Curry Company,' and the couples lived in Yosemite Valley
.
Lucy Telles was one of a group of Mono-Paiute women "became known for their exceedingly fine, visually stunning and complex polychrome baskets." Other basket weaving
artists in this group included Nellie Charlie
and Carrie Bethel
.
as a child, was well known for her fine basketry during her lifetime. Her innovations in basket weaving had a lasting influence on Yosemites weavers. While traditional Miwok baskets had one color, she used two colors per baskets. She created black from bracken fern root (Pteridium aquilinum
) and red from split redbud twigs. She created new basketry designs, some inspired by Plains Indian geometric beadwork. Lucy sold her baskets to Yosemite visitors.
By the 1920s, Telles was regarded as the best basket weaver in Yosemite Valley. In 1924, she won a prize of $100 for her baskets. Her most famous basket was the largest known to have been woven in Yosemite Valley. It sold for $250 in 1939. An enormous basket with a 36" diameter that took her four years to weave took first prize at the 1933 World's Fair. In 1950, Telles raffled off this basket, her son won it, and the National Park Service
purchased it for their Yosemite Museum
.
Lucy demonstrated basket making to park visitors from 1930 until her death in 1955 or 1956. She taught her grandson's wife, Julia Peter Parker
(Kashaya Pomo) how to weave baskets. She was one of the most prolific California
and Yosemite – Mono Lake Paiute basket makers. Several of her baskets are featured at the Yosemite National Park
Indian museum.
, the Oakland Museum of California
, the Nevada Museum of Art
and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art from 2006 to 2008. One of her baskets from the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, is currently on exhibit at the California Museum in Sacramento.
Kucadikadi
The Kucadikadi are a band of Northern Paiute people who live near Mono Lake in Mono County, California. They are the southernmost band of Northern Paiute.-Name:...
(Northern Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
) and Southern Sierra Miwok (Yosemite Miwok) Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
basket weaver.
Background
Lucy Telles was born near Mono Lake, in Mono County, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Her Indian name was Pamahas, which translates to "Meadows" in the Northern Paiute language
Northern Paiute language
Northern Paiute is a Western Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family, which according to Marianne Mithun had around 500 fluent speakers in 1994. Ethnologue reported the number of speakers in 1999 as 1,631...
. Her parents were Louisa and Mack Tom. Her maternal grandparents were Mono Lake Paiute Captain Sam and Mono 'Yosemite Paiute' Susie Sam. She and her family lived in Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
and at Mono Lake
Mono Lake
Mono Lake is a large, shallow saline lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in a basin that has no outlet to the ocean...
. As a child, Telles played near Galen Clark
Galen Clark
Galen Clark is known as the first European American to discover the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees, and is notable for his role in gaining legislation to protect it and the Yosemite area, and for 24 years serving as Guardian of Yosemite National Park.-Early life and education:Galen Clark...
's cabin. To supplement her family's income, she caught fish in the Valley to sell to hotel keepers.
Telles' first husband was Jack Parker, a Paiute. In 1902 they had a son, Lloyd Parker, but shortly after he was born, Jack died. She later married John Telles, a Mexican-American from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. John worked as a truck driver and laborer for the 'Yosemite Park & Curry Company,' and the couples lived in Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
.
Lucy Telles was one of a group of Mono-Paiute women "became known for their exceedingly fine, visually stunning and complex polychrome baskets." Other basket weaving
Basket weaving
Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape...
artists in this group included Nellie Charlie
Nellie Charlie
Nellie Charlie was a Mono Lake Paiute - Kucadikadi basketmaker associated with Yosemite National Park. She was born in Lee Vining, California, the daughter of tribal headman Pete Jim, and his wife Patsy, also a basketmaker. She married Young Charlie, a Mono Lake Paiute - Kucadikadi man from...
and Carrie Bethel
Carrie Bethel
Carrie McGowan Bethel was a Mono Lake Paiute - Kucadikadi basketmaker associated with Yosemite National Park. She was born Carrie McGowan in Lee Vining, California and began making baskets at the age of 12. She participated in basket making competitions in the Yosemite Indian Field Days in 1926...
.
Art career
Telles, who learned basket weavingBasket weaving
Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape...
as a child, was well known for her fine basketry during her lifetime. Her innovations in basket weaving had a lasting influence on Yosemites weavers. While traditional Miwok baskets had one color, she used two colors per baskets. She created black from bracken fern root (Pteridium aquilinum
Pteridium aquilinum
Pteridium aquilinum is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions throughout much of the northern hemisphere....
) and red from split redbud twigs. She created new basketry designs, some inspired by Plains Indian geometric beadwork. Lucy sold her baskets to Yosemite visitors.
By the 1920s, Telles was regarded as the best basket weaver in Yosemite Valley. In 1924, she won a prize of $100 for her baskets. Her most famous basket was the largest known to have been woven in Yosemite Valley. It sold for $250 in 1939. An enormous basket with a 36" diameter that took her four years to weave took first prize at the 1933 World's Fair. In 1950, Telles raffled off this basket, her son won it, and the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
purchased it for their Yosemite Museum
Yosemite Museum
The Yosemite Museum is located in Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in California. Founded in 1926 through the efforts of Ansel Franklin Hall, the museum's displays focus on the heritage and culture of the Ahwaneechee people who lived in the valley...
.
Lucy demonstrated basket making to park visitors from 1930 until her death in 1955 or 1956. She taught her grandson's wife, Julia Peter Parker
Julia Parker (basketmaker)
Julia Parker is a master basket weaver of the Coast Miwok and Kashaya Pomo tribes and a student of the great basket weavers of the twentieth century, Lucy Telles , Mabel McKay, , and Elsie Allen . Over the last forty years, Parker has become one of the pre-eminent Native American basket makers in...
(Kashaya Pomo) how to weave baskets. She was one of the most prolific California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Yosemite – Mono Lake Paiute basket makers. Several of her baskets are featured at the Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
Indian museum.
Legacy
Two of her baskets were part of an exhibition on the art of Yosemite which appeared at the Autry National CenterAutry National Center
The Autry National Center of the American West is an intercultural center and museum in Los Angeles, California that celebrates the diversity and history of the American West through three important institutions: the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of the American West, and the...
, the Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
, the Nevada Museum of Art
Nevada Museum of Art
The Nevada Museum of Art, located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, Nevada, is the only American Association of Museums accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum is thematic, focusing on the growing interest in the protection of the land...
and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art from 2006 to 2008. One of her baskets from the collection of the California Academy of Sciences, is currently on exhibit at the California Museum in Sacramento.
External links
- Photo of Lucy Telles with her largest basket.
- Lucy Telles basket at auction.
- Lucy Telles demonstrating basketmaking in Yosemite National Park.