Planning your own book group/get-together for Sweetgrass Basket? Here are some party ideas from author Marlene Carvell. Invite: An invitation in the shape of a basket; Mohawk baskets are unique in that they usually have a lid. The lid could lift to show the details of the party. 
Food: Pumpkin muffins or zucchini bread (squash is one of The Three Sisters) and apple cider.
Décor: Mattie's treasured possession is the basket her mother made for her. Party participants could be asked to bring a favorite basket to help set the mood.
Movies: Rabbit-Proof Fence
Craft: Print bookmarks with the Hiawatha Belt design found on the cover. have participants choose a word that they associate most closely with the book. Write that word in English on one side and in Mohawk on the other.
7 comments:
Love these ideas. I'm envisioning a beautiful cake with the basketweave frosting design...
Watch Rabbit Proof Fence, everyone. PLEASE!
Those muffins look great! I'm going to go get some squash tomorrow and *attempt* to make some
Listen to Lorie Ann, everyone. Rabbit Proof Fence is an awesome movie!
Vivian: My son married a Navajo girl. It sounds like you would have appreciated his groom's cake which was decorated with the design of the Navajo wedding basket. (Our Mohawk gifts to the bride's family were small sweetgrass baskets.)
Alex: If I had a recipe for the muffins, I would send it along. I tend to just throw ingredients together and hope for the best. Use a basic muffin recipe and add some pureed pumpkin, reducing the liquid somewhat that you would otherwise add. A little clove or cinnamon is good as well. Enjoy!
More movie thoughts: I chose Rabbit Proof Fence (which takes place in Australia) because the forced assimilation and desperate desire to go home paralleled Sweetgrass so well. For anyone interested in more contemporary NA issues, however, two excellent films are Smoke Signals (based on Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven)and Frozen River (which takes place at/near Akwesasne and earned Melissa Leo an academy award nomination for best actress).
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