Henry Arquette Honored as Master Basketmaker

A reception to honor Henry Arquette’s achievements as a master basketmaker, and his on-going work as an instructor at the Akwesasne Museum, was held on Wednesday April 10, 2013 at the Akwesasne Cultural Center. The reception was hosted by the Board of Directors of the center. Henry’s family, friends, and most recent students shared their appreciation for Henry, viewed the DVD “Utility Baskets by Henry Arquette - Atsienhanonne”, and enjoyed refreshments. Irving Papineau, the president of the board of directors, noted that Henry’s baskets are known internationally for their excellence. Sue Herne, the museum program coordinator, mentioned that he is a retired ironworker who had the same work ethic and perfectionism on the job that he is known for in his basketry. One of his recent students, Taio King, first learned to make a basket when Wehnitanoron Seymour, a teacher at the Akwesasne Freedom School, had taken Taio and the rest of his class to Henry’s for a basket class held in the Mohawk language. Taio stood up at the reception to say that when he took his first basket to Six Nations to show his grandparents, they remarked on how very nice it is, and then went into a long conversation with one another. They turned to Taio and said that he is the first person in six generations in his family to make a basket again. He thanked Henry for sharing his knowledge. Strong sentiments such as these were shared by Glory Cole, Akwesasne Cultural Center Director; Carol White, former director; and others.

A picnic basket made by Henry and a wedding basket made by his son, the late Curtis Arquette, are among several baskets from the Akwesasne Museum presently on loan in Germany for an exhibit “On the Trail of the Iroquois”. While Curtis was the only son who could do each step of basketmaking, and Henry noted in his interview that none of his children were keeping up the tradition, there were members of the next generations in Henry’s family at the reception who showed a great interest in the fact that a DVD was made on their grandpa. The reception was a nice celebration of Henry’s impact on the basketmakers of Akwesasne today and into the future. Henry’s name, Atsienhanonne, means Firekeeper. He keeps the fires of creativity, endurance and hard work alive by passing on his knowledge to many devoted students here in Akwesasne. Niawenhko:wa, Atsienhanonne!