ITEM

Richard Silliboy, interviewed by Anu Dudley, September 21, 2003, at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine.

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Identifier
NA 3074 (local)
Date
September 21 2003 (Date created)
Summary

Silliboy speaks about moving from Gouldsboro, Maine, to Aroostook County; his mother Mary; tribal affiliation with the Presque Isle Micmacs; working at the Basket Bank Store in Presque Isle, Maine; making and selling Native American baskets; serving as the Economic Development Coordinator for the Basket Bank; problems finding wood and supplies for basketry; basketmakers Marlene, Robina, Donald and Mary Senapass, and Abe and Sarah Lunn; costs of baskets; difficulties with exposure and marketing; shows at the malls in New Hampshire and Maine, the Common Ground Fair, and festivals; joining the Basket Alliance; opening a store in Houlton, Maine, after applying for a loan from Finance Authority; purchasing baskets from Nova Scotia and Quebec; basketmakers Steven Aize, Peter Baldwin, Ruby Skillinger, Jeremy Fray, Peter Neptune, and Molly Nepture Parker; selling baskets at the Common Ground Fair; the development of the Native Arts tent; colleagues Betsy Hart and Martha Motley; serving as co-coordinator of the steering committee; his mother, Mary Silliboy, selling baskets to Fog’s Hardware Store; exposure for artists; earning money doing traditional Native American crafts; bringing workshops to Maine’s Native communities; the dying off of basketmaking elders; increases in the number of young basketmakers; starting language workshops on Native reservations in Maine; moving baskets; baskets as conversation pieces in the home; participation in the Common Ground Fair; and cultural continuance of Native Americans.

Creator and/or Contributor
Richard Silliboy (interviewee), Anu Dudley (interviewer)
Language
English (Languages)
Other Subject Headings
Indigenous peoples (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Indigenous art (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Family histories (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Basket making (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Crafts industry (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Marketing (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Craft shows (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Small business owners (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Agricultural fairs (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Cultural conservation (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Education (Ethnographic Thesaurus (ET))
Temporal Coverage
before 2003 CE
Geographic Coverage
Unity, Maine (Geonames)
Gouldsboro, Maine (Geonames)
Presque Isle, Maine (Geonames)
Houlton, Maine (Geonames)
Nova Scotia, Canada (Geonames)
Quebec, Canada (Geonames)
New Hampshire, United States (Geonames)
Materials Designation
sound cassettes (analog)
Related Entities:
Richard Silliboy (interviewee)
Anu Dudley (interviewer)
Related Objects