Victorian Design Elements
A main focal point of this basket is the soutache, or looped braids, which are reminiscent of the designs seen on many Victorian-style clothing and accessories (Olian 1998). It isn't totally clear exactly what purpose this basket served, as it is quite unusual. However, it is likely that it was created to be sold to tourists during the late 1800s, as these design elements would appeal to that clientele, and that the maker of this basket learned of these designs due to an experience with boarding schools as they began during the Victorian era. It's interesting to note that the creator of this basket could be a Potawatomi woman, based on the region and the likelihood that they went to a boarding school. Through these schools, settlers attempted to assimilate indigenous children to white culture by teaching them to dress, act, and speak a certain way. For girls, the teachings also included vocational skills like sewing and dressmaking, both of which would encourage using a soutache design (Satterlee 2002). Despite efforts of assimilation, children were often still expected to produce Native-seeming crafts for tourist trade (Krmpotich et al. 2016). So while boarding schools may have influenced the design of this basket, it's possible that they brought about the creation of the basket in the first place.