Theresa Secord (Penobscot) has tirelessly taught the art of ash and sweetgrass basketry. As a founding member of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, she helped inspire more people to become weavers from the Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot nations. Through her work, the number of basketmakers grew from 55 to more than 200. Secord became the first U.S. citizen to receive the Prize for Creativity in Rural Life from the Women’s World Summit Foundation in 2003. She also received a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 2016. You can watch her speak about her research and art(link is external) at our National Museum of the American Indian in 2015.

Basket with cover by Theresa Secord (Penobscot). National Museum of the American Indian.