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LEAF, Mary

Born
Akwesasne Indian Reserve, Ontario, 1925
Died
, 2004
Biography synopsis
First Nations artist Mary Leaf was born in 1925 on the Akwesasne Indian Reserve in Ontario. A member of the Mohawk tribe, Leaf was renowned for her basket making abilities, which she learned from her mother, Josephine Thompson. As a young child, Leaf was taught traditional splintwork and lacrosse stick weaving techniques, which she used to create colourful strawberry baskets. Some of Leaf's works can be found in the North American Indian Traveling College in Ontario and the Newark Museum in New Jersey.
Media used
Basket making
File & Archive locations
Thunder Bay Art Gallery, ON - Resource Centre
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
Jemison, G. Peter. "Haudenosaunee: Living Treasures." Heritage 15.4 (Sept. 1999): 4-11
Little, Molly. "Mary Leaf, Mohawk Basketmaker." Artifacts 13.3 (Summer 1985): 14
Porter, Frank W. ed. The Art of Native American Basketry: A Living Legacy. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990
Pulleyn, Rob. The Basketmaker's Art: Contemporary Baskets and Their Makers. Asheville, N.C.: Lark Books, 1992
Reno, Dawn E. Contemporary Native American Artists. Brooklyn, New York: Alliance Publishing, 1995

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