For the Ho-Chunk Nation, basket making has played an important role in their culture for hundreds of years.
And because it's a dying form of art, they held the Great Ho-Chunk Basket Making Exhibition.
It's the art of basket making, a tradition in the Ho-Chunk Nation for years, but that may not be the case for long.
"We have actually, a 7,000 member tribe, give or take a few here or there, basically 7,000, and out of 7,000 we have 14 master basket makers," says Gloria Visintin, director of event.
Now you may be asking why.
It turns out making the beautiful baskets isn't an easy job.
"This is an art that requires the services and the attention and the dedication of people who are very strong, this art is not for the weak or fate of heart," she says.
And it all begins with a tree.
"What we're after is the annual grow thing rings of the Black Ash Tree and the pounding of the log, separates the annual growth rings and it just comes off, it will follow the grain of the tree and that's what we make the baskets out of," says Keraco.
"We take those and this would be one that's already split, this is the inside of the basket, and then we scrape the fibrous material off so it's smooth, and after that we dye it. We use regular fabric dye and cut it to size and the weaver, these are the weavers and that's where the fun begins," says Leola Rockman.
The strips are then woven into a basket, and the process is complete.
To keep it alive, an effort to teach younger generations about basket making is underway.
In hopes that this beautiful art will keep going for years to come.
"They are beautiful reminders of what we have had, what we can do, and what the future brings us," says Gloria.
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Basket Making
