Folklife Program with Becky Thomas-Meziere

Join us for a celebration of Louisiana folklife honoring Becky Thomas-Meziere, a master pine needle basket maker of Choctaw descent. Thomas-Meziere will display examples of her basketry and discuss the traditional skills passed down to her by her mother, as well as her work to preserve this rare art form for future generations. Following a brief ceremony recognizing her as an official Louisiana Tradition Bearer, Dr. Shane Rasmussen, Director of the Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State University, will interview Thomas-Meziere on behalf of the Louisiana Folklife Commission.

Becky Thomas-Meziere is a traditional pine needle basket maker of Choctaw descent currently living in Natchitoches parish, Louisiana. Becky is also an enrolled member of the Clifton Choctaw Tribe with family ties to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. As a young child Becky’s mother handed down the traditional Native American methods and techniques of gathering long leaf pine needles from the local forest, how to use raw material to make baskets, and the art of weaving. A renowned master basket weaver with over 30 years of experience, Becky has received numerous awards, the most recent being The Diverse Heritage Award from The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation (LTHP). Her baskets are in private and public collections throughout the world including The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. She has demonstrated her traditional art form of pine needle basket making in multiple juried art shows and festivals such as The New Orleans JazzFest Native American Village and the annual Tunica Biloxi Tribe Intertribal Basketry Summit. She is currently active in promoting awareness of traditional pine needle basket making and the importance of passing down this rare art form to younger generations.