Native American Authors

Elsie Allen, 1899-1990

Pomo

Elsie Allen was born in a hop field outside Santa Rosa, California. She learned to read and write English between ages thirteen and sixteen. Allen’s mother on her deathbed begged her to keep the family’s baskets, and those baskets are now on loan to the Mendocino County Museum in Willitts. At the age of sixty-two, Allen took up to Pomo basketmaking which she had learned from her youth, a tradition which demonstrated to a wide audience. In 1972 Allen’s book, Pomo Basketry: a Supreme Art for the Weaver, brought widespread recognition to her tribe.

Online resources by or about Elsie Allen:

Elsie Allen: Pomo Basket Family
Author: Paula Giese
Type: authorbio
Description: Biography of Elsie Allen by Paula Giese from the Native American Books website, including many photos of the author and her work.

URL: http://www.kstrom.net/isk/art/basket/elsieall.html

Books by Elsie Allen:

Allen, Elsie. Pomo Basketmaking : A Supreme Art for the Weaver
Happy Camp : Naturegraph Publishers, 1972.
Genre: Nonfiction
Audience: All Ages

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