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TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Skilled basket-weavers, Betty Frogg and Pauline Hampton, will showcase their work Saturday, June 14, from 10:00 am. to 3:00 p.m. at the Cherokee Arts and Pottery Center, located on Highway 2 and I-40 in Warner. Everyone is welcome to attend and visit with the artists about the art of basket weaving, and purchase their work.

Cherokee baskets are traditionally made with natural plant fibers. Honey-suckle and buck-brush runners are used for weaving, while split river cane and split-oak are typically used for flat-reed weaving.

"We (Cherokees) were weaving baskets with flat-reed (split river cane) long before we started using round-reed," Frogg said. "We didn’t start using round-reed (honey suckle and buck-brush) until after we got here to Oklahoma, after the Trail."

The Cherokee Arts and Pottery Center is a division of the Cherokee Heritage Center. This new center will be conducting workshops to teach Cherokee arts and crafts. For a list of the 2003 schedule for these events and more information on the Cherokee Arts and Pottery Center call 918-463-3029.

Related contact information:

Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager Cherokee Nation - Public Affairs Phone 918-456-0671 (Ex.2324) E-mail: ldaugherty@cherokee.org

Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Specialist Phone: 918-456-0671 (ex.2843) E-mail: bpeak@cherokee.org