
Mabel McKay weaving a coiled basket | Photo: courtesy Sharon Rogers and Marshall McKay
For Mabel McKay, the renowned Pomo basket weaver, traditional doctor, and last speaker of her language, her relationship with the environment was an intrinsic part of life. She had a spiritual connection to the plants she wove into her baskets, a deep respect for the birds she used for her feather work, and longstanding ties to the cultural traditions of her ancestors. Interviewed for an article in the magazine American Indian Basketry in 1983, Mabel said: collecting the sedge is spiritual, just like weaving the basket is spiritual.
--
--
Mabel was born in 1907 and passed away in 1993. Over the course of her lifetime-which nearly spanned the entirety of the twentieth century-she would have experienced an enormous amount of social and political change. Born in Lake County in the town of Nice, California and raised near Cache Creek (now the present day Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation about forty minutes south of Sacramento), she witnessed the landscape around her changing. Pomo territory is very environmentally diverse, ranging from the coastal redwood forests of the Kashaya Pomo reservation near Fort Ross to the rolling grasslands and oak groves near Clear Lake.
A History of the Pomo People in California | Video: The Autry Museum
When Mabel was born, there were only six members of her tribe the Long Valley Cache Creek Pomo remaining, and approximately 700 members of all of the other Pomo groups. This number was in sharp contrast to the over 20,000 Pomo people who lived in the area prior to contact; in less than a century, disease, violence, and outright targeted extermination efforts had led to devastating population loss. Remarkably, Mabel was able to preserve her traditions into the late twentieth century, especially given the fact that there were so few members left to continue these cultural practices.
One of the things that sets Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) apart from other disciplines is the manner in which it is passed down. Indigenous cultures around the world transmit this knowledge through oral tradition, with elders teaching the next generation. TEK is learned through observing nature, developing a close relationship with the environment, and as is often linked with spirituality. For Mabel McKay, her life was guided by the Spirit, which spoke to her in dreams and instructed her on basket weaving and doctoring.
(Story continues below)
One of Mabel McKays miniature baskets | Video: The Autry Museum
Another miniature by Mabel | Video: The Autry Museum
When Mabel was young, she suffered from a series of illnesses. As a result, she never finished formal schooling past the third grade. Yet she was exceptionally knowledgeable about plants, seasons, and water systems. She learned to gather medicinal plants from her Wintun maternal grandmother Sarah Taylor, and in turn passed this knowledge down to Nomtipom Wintu herbalist and ethnobotanist Sage LaPena.
The only extant video of Mabel McKay, speaking to a classroom. | Video: courtesy the Autry Museum
Mabel used a variety of medicinal plants in her healing, including Artemisia or mugwort, manzanita, angelica, and yerba santa, all of them native to California. These plants are used to treat a variety of ailments from stomach aches to menstrual cramps. Though she technically had only a third grade education and did not receive her driver's license until age sixty, Mabel McKay shared her knowledge by consulting with museums and speaking at universities, including prestigious institutions like Stanford University Medical School.
Mabel's maternal grandmother Sarah Taylor | Photo: courtesy Sharon Rogers and Marshall McKay
Mabel's knowledge of plants-used for both healing and basket weaving-was extensive. In the late 1970s, Mabel began to teach basket weaving classes to a group of dedicated students, both Native and non-Native. She was willing to teach anyone as long as they were able to listen and adhere to her rules. Long before any of her students started weaving, they had to learn to properly gather and prepare their materials. It would often take up to two years before her students could start working on a basket. Mabel would take her students out gathering, teaching them the proper ways to tend and maintain basketry plants, and when they could gather.
Knowledge of seasons is essential for gathering basketry plants. For example redbud, one of the primary design materials in Pomo baskets, must be gathered in the fall to produce the desired red effect. Redbud gathered in the summer is white. In keeping with Pomo tradition, Mabel exclusively used redbud for the red designs in her baskets. She also taught her students about birds and other animal species, and their relationship to the plants. When consulting on a display of a sedge bed in a past exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Mabel insisted that a blue jay be included as jays give warning of danger approaching, like an adjacent predator.
More from Tending The Wild
Tules: Weaving Baskets, Boats, Decoys, and Houses
Weaving the Words Together: Protecting Language and Life at the Same Time
The Plants Need Us to Speak Up For Them: Talking With Nick Hummingbird
1 of 2
next
Sedge, or k'uhum in the Northern Pomo language, is one of the most important plants for Pomo basket weavers. Sedge requires generations of tending, to ensure that the roots grow long and straight. The roots need to flourish in sandy soil, free from rocks and debris. Mabel's son Marshall reflects that she was always able to find the longest sedge roots, often several feet in length. Prior to digging sedge, Mabel would say a prayer. To her, the relationship between people, plants, and the spirit world were one. It was Mabel's relationship with the pl
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
12/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/02/2026
The GeForce NOW sixth-anniversary festivities roll on this February, continuing a monthlong celebration of NVIDIA's cloud gaming service.
This week brings ...
12/02/2026
TIME100 Health list features Scripps Research Professor Darrell Irvine Irvine is recognized for his work in empowering the immune system to fight disease, which...
11/02/2026
FYI: Phone Support Maintenance One thing we pride ourselves on here at Utah Scientific is our 24-hour support included with our signature 10-year hardware warra...
11/02/2026
Leading provider of video streaming solutions, Bitmovin, has appointed Ian Baglow as Co-CEO alongside existing CEO and Co-Founder Stefan Lederer. Under this str...
11/02/2026
Paramount and the CBS Television Network will partner to air UFC 326: HOLLOWAY vs. OLIVEIRA 2 live on Saturday, March 7, from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, mar...
11/02/2026
Beginning February 10, fans can buy MLB.TV on ESPN, a new milestone in one of sports media's longest-standing partnerships. ESPN becomes the new streaming h...
11/02/2026
Fubo Sports Network is available to Hulu's Live TV subscribers in the core $89.99 a month subscription plan, which also includes full access to the entire H...
11/02/2026
Following a competitive public tender process, Rai (Radiotelevisione Italiana), the national public broadcasting company of Italy, has awarded Imagine Communica...
11/02/2026
Major League Baseball is making in-market streaming subscriptions for 20 Clubs available today for fans. Subscriptions for the following Clubs are available vi...
11/02/2026
Building on successful demonstrations during the Paris Olympics 2024, Italian public service broadcaster Rai and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) are condu...
11/02/2026
Following Sunday's Super Bowl LX, ESPN and Disney unveiled We're Going,...
11/02/2026
Delayed streams are a growing source of frustration for sports fans. During the 2026 Super Bowl, some streams lagged up to 62 seconds behind the action on the f...
11/02/2026
NASCAR and FloSports announces an expanded slate of racing events that will bring FloRacing coverage live throughout the 2026 season to the NASCAR Channel, furt...
11/02/2026
Manifold technologies GmbH announces the appointment of Nick Tucker as Sales Manager for Europe, reinforcing the company's continued growth across broadcast...
11/02/2026
Genies, the AI avatar technology company powering the next era of interactive digital identity, entered into a landmark collaboration with MLB Players, Inc., th...
11/02/2026
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Google have joined forces for an AI-...
11/02/2026
Dolby's CEO Kevin Yeaman and Giles Baker, SVP of Dolby Cloud Solutions, shared how the brand's latest innovations - Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby...
11/02/2026
Ilitch Sports + Entertainment has entered a first of its kind partnership with Major League Baseball, which will provide broadcast support to both the Detroit T...
11/02/2026
For major U.S. events like Super Bowl 2026, FIFA World Cup, America 250, and the...
11/02/2026
Broadcasts of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings will also be produced by the leagu...
11/02/2026
Video moves fast can your DAM keep up?
Join Blue Lucy in LA for the West Coast's leading Digital Asset Management event as we explore, celebrate, and acc...
11/02/2026
NEW YORK - February 10, 2026 - An estimated 124.9 million viewers watched Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8, according to Nielsen's Big Data Panel measu...
11/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/02/2026
Clear-Com provided an advanced, IP-based communications infrastructure for TEDNext 2025, supporting production, media, and editorial teams with a highly flexib...
11/02/2026
Astera introduces QuikBeam, the newest addition to its acclaimed Quik family of focusing LED Fresnels. This ultra-compact spotlight combines the equivalent powe...
11/02/2026
Following a competitive public tender process, Rai (Radiotelevisione Italiana), the national public broadcasting company of Italy, has awarded Imagine Communica...
11/02/2026
With Convertible Mount for NL Bowens & Aputure A Mounts See it at BSC Expo Stand #133 LCA
DoPchoice continues to refine light shaping tools for professional LE...
11/02/2026
World Premiere at BSC Expo, Booth #319 Oberkochen/Germany, 10 February 2026
ZEISS introduces the new Aatma, set of nine high-end full frame T1.5 cinema primes ...
11/02/2026
As Re-recording Mixer and Head of Sound at The Farm, one of UK's leading post-production facilities, Nick Fry has built his career on making stories sound a...
11/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/02/2026
Graduate Spotlight: Gabrielle Rodriguez The educator, who grew up in the Philippines, shares how shes bringing what she learned at Berklee back home.
Februar...
11/02/2026
Wednesday 11 February 2026
Sky brings together Netflix, Disney , HBO Max and Ha...
11/02/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Confirms Production of Love O'Clock' From the...
11/02/2026
Back to All News
Investing in Belgian Stories: A Commitment to Culture and Choice
From left to right: Undercover, Ang le, Rough Diamonds, Into the Night, John...
11/02/2026
At the end of January, ICG headed off to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, for our annual conference.
An early flight gave us plenty of time to start exploring s...