Three generations of Tlingit women will demonstrate and explain the lost art of two-strand twining -- an ancient traditional technique once used by Alaskan natives to create spruce root baskets, Raven's Tail robes and chilkat blankets -- on Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19, at the Peabody Museum of Natural History.
Marie Laws, her daughter Teri Rofkar and her granddaughter Erin Rofkar have researched and revived the traditional craft, and have taught and exhibited their works throughout the United States.
The three women will demonstrate the two-strand twining technique and discuss Tlingit culture and traditions 1:30-
4:30 p.m. each day. Saturday's program will also feature a slide show and an opportunity for museum visitors to test their own basket-weaving skills.
The creative work that the women will bring to the Peabody Museum also serves as a historical record of the area and people of southeast Alaska. A robe being created by Teri Rofkar traces the geological history of the Lituya Bay region, and a piece that her mother is weaving is based on an ancient fragment of a Raven's Tail textile found on Kruzof Island in 1931. The significance of spruce root and cedar bark in native culture will be explained by Erin Rofkar.
The program, which is free with museum admission, coincides with the completion of the Northwest Coast exhibits in the Peabody's Hall of Native American cultures. The weekend programs are sponsored by a grant from BankBoston.
The Peabody Museum of Natural History is located at 170 Whitney Ave. For information about admission and programs, call 432-5050 or visit the museum's web site at www.peabody.yale.edu.
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