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Sonoma Family Life Magazine

Make a Basket Bot

Indigenous peoples all over the globe have been making baskets for millennia. The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center is inviting kids ages 7 and older to learn about this ancient art at Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Kids classes at two local libraries. Participants will not only learn the basics of weaving a basket, but will also find out about Native American cultural practices; traditional lifeways, foods, and medicines; and the impacts of colonization. The free, one-hour classes will be held on November 9 at 11 a.m. at the Healdsburg Regional Library in Healdsburg and on the same day at 2 p.m. at the Sebastopol Regional Library in Sebastopol. Class size is limited; register for the Healdsburg class at sonomacounty.libcal.com/event/5748485 and for the Sebastopol class at sonomacounty.libcal.com/event/5748486. The Museum will also be presenting a Native STEM Makers Program, which will teach kids ages 8–12 how to make “basket bots” and how to process hazelnuts. These classes will be held on November 2 at 11 a.m. at the Northwest Santa Rosa Library in Santa Rosa; November 13 at 6 p.m. at the Windsor Regional Library in Windsor; November 22 at 4 p.m. at the Healdsburg Regional Library in Healdsburg; and on November 30 at 10:30 a.m. at the Central Santa Rosa Library in Santa Rosa. Go to sonomacounty.libcal.com to register.