Dat so La Lee: Master Washo Indian Basket Weaver

Near Carson City, Nevada, in 1829, a Washo Indian woman named Dabuda was born. As with most Washo women, she learned to weave baskets for everyday use, but as the white Europeans moved into the area during the gold rush days, she began making baskets for sale. Her weaving was extremely fine and she soon became known for her excellent baskets. A white man, Dr. S.L. Lee recorded the details of her life. She became known as Dat-So-La-Lee. It was common for Native Americans to change their name, so the nickname of Dat-So-La-Lee was not anything unusual. She was married twice, the first time her husband died of a disease that was probably tuberculosis and her two children died when young. Before she became so famous for her basketry, however, she worked as a housekeeper for the miners around Carson City and Virginia City.

Somewhere around 1888, Dat-So-La-Lee married again to a man named Charlie Keyser. He was half Washo and changed is last name to Keyser, after the family he worked for. About this time, Dat-So-La-Lee changed her name to Louisa and also took the last name Keyser. Her skill with basketry was recognized by a man, Abe Cohn, who began collecting her baskets. He first bought some bottles that were covered with tightly woven willow weaving. Cohn saw a business opportunity in her talent and took on the job of being her manager and sponsor. Cohn looked after Dat-So-La-Lee and her husband, giving them a place to live and paying their expenses. Dat-So-La-Lee and her husband also had a home at Lake Tahoe, provided by Cohn. The type of basketry that Dat-So-La-Lee was most famous for was called degikup. This is a very finely woven basket starts with a central circle base and is woven outward to whatever size is desired, then it begins to move inward again until the top is about the same size as the small circle base.

Cohn has a merchant shop where he sold her baskets and she almost exclusively wove for his store. They would travel around to various craft shows where her baskets would be exhibited. She was inspired by other Indian tribe's basket designs, but mostly she designed her own styles and symbols. Instead of a signature on legal documents, she would use her handprint, which was a common way to 'sign' papers in those days. She died in 1925 and her husband, Charlie, died in 1928. Dat-So-La-Lee is remembered as one of the greatest basket weavers of the Washo tribe, even today. Many of her baskets are on display in the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, Nevada.