September 15, 2025 – Yosemite National Park officials highlight the skilled basket weaving and rich history of Lucy Telles. 

Born in 1885 to Miwok and Paiute parents, Lucy spent most of her life between Mono Lake and Yosemite Valley. The art of weaving was passed to her by her mother, and Lucy quickly became skilled. She gained recognition for her intricate and innovative designs and excelled in the Yosemite Indian Field Days basket competitions.

Each basket begins with the basket maker's deep understanding of climate and seasonality. The materials used in Lucy's baskets—bracken fern root, redbud, and sedge root—were carefully harvested at their prime, stored, and prepared for the coiled weaving style she employed. Because the availability of materials directly impacts basket making, weavers like Lucy are deeply attuned to long-term resource stewardship and the ecological needs of each plant they use.

Whether a basket serves a utilitarian purpose or is purely decorative, it carries a wealth of knowledge within its coiled frame. This includes generational knowledge of weaving, sustainable resource management, an understanding of plants and their ecosystems, as well as the creator's observations of their surroundings, reflected through motifs of natural elements, plants, and animals.

Stories of Yosemite's weavers and their work can be found at: www.nps.gov/.../yosemite_basketry/design.

Pictured below is Lucy Telles, also known as Pa-ma-has, with her largest basket, which took four years to complete.

 
Source & photos: NPS