Like other native groups in northeast North America, Mi'kmaq tribespeople in Aroostook County have relied on basketmaking and migrant seasonal labor for subsistence since the mid-1800s. Men, as well as women, weave sturdy utility baskets, especially the potato basket long used for harvesting crops.
Women make the more delicate fancy baskets, interweaving splints and sweetgrass.
Recent mechanization of farm labor has resulted in a drastic decline in demand for harvesting baskets. Responding to such modern challenges and struglging for cultural survival, members of the Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians have formed a cooperative to find wider markets for their native crafts. This admirable film features Micmac basketmakers . The filmmakers successfully maintain high quality color and sound in all these settings. The film is well edited and paced.