Mabel McKay was a member of the Long Valley Cache Creek Pomo Indians and was of Patwin descent.
16 Facts About Mabel McKay
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Mabel McKay was the last Dreamer of the Pomo people and was renowned for her basket weaving.
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Mabel McKay's father was Yanta Boone and her mother was Daisy Hansen.
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Mabel McKay was raised by her maternal grandmother, Sarah Taylor, who taught her both the Long Valley Cache Creek language and how to identify and forage for medicinal plants.
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Mabel McKay did not attend school past the third grade due to a series of illnesses.
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Mabel McKay claimed she was strictly instructed by Spirit as to how and what to weave.
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Mabel McKay used sedge for her baskets, and redbud for the red designs, as per Pomo tradition.
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Mabel McKay's baskets were featured in many newspapers as a prodigy of her craft.
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Mabel McKay began giving demonstrations in the State Indian Museum in Sacramento, refusing to sell them and only giving them as gifts.
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Mabel McKay continued with her baskets until death, and many have become prized exhibits in museums such as the National Museum of Natural History.
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Mabel McKay was a well-respected scholar who spoke at universities and served as a cultural consultant for anthropologists.
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Mabel McKay spoke at the New School in New York with Essie Parrish on March 14,1972.
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Mabel McKay became a well respected healer among those in her community.
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Mabel McKay was one of the last Pomo dream doctors, and would often travel great distances to tend to her patients.
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Mabel McKay died on May 31,1993, and was buried next to Essie Parish in the Kashaya Pomo cemetery.
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Mabel McKay's work has inspired other artists, including Dineh artist Leatrice Mikkelsen.