Emma Taylor

North Carolina · born or raised1920–2002

Basket maker (1920-2002)

Born in Swain County
Lived in Qualla Boundary

Quotations with a citation

I was about seven years old when I learned how to make baskets from watching my mother. Whenever Mother would sit out there in the yard, she’d be taking out splints. I’d gather up all those short ones, and I’d try to make a basket. I couldn’t make them at the beginning. My mother, she didn’t really teach me how to make the basket; I learned how to make a basket just by seeing.

We used to have plenty of cane right by the river, but they’ve been building so many roads by the river they’ve just destroyed our river. We have to go clear to Tennessee to get our cane.