Elsie Allen

Background

Elsie Comanche Allen was born on 22 September 1899 to George and Annie Comanche (Comanche is an Anglicized version of the Pomo name, Gomachu).

Career

Her first language was Pomo. She lived in several Pomo communities, including Cloverdale, Hopland, and Pinoleville Rancherias. Elsie"s mother, Annie founded the Pomo Indian Women"s Club, which promotes the tribe"s basketry.

She also convinced Elsie to break with tradition and not burn or bury her baskets – instead to keep them for future basketmakers.

Elsie married Arthur Allen, a northern Pomo, in 1919. Together the couple had four children, Genevieve, Leonard, Dorothy, and George.

During the 1950s and 1960s, interest in basketry among Pomo had waned, so Allen began teaching anyone interested in learning her technique, which created controversy in her tribe. She taught at the Mendocino Art Center.

Late in her career, Elsie Allen began using commercial materials in her baskets after receiving a vision.

Allen worked with linguist Abraham M. Halpern to document the

Allen died on December 31st, 1990. Together with Mabel McKay, Laura Somersal, Elsie Allen is regarded as one of the three best known California basketweavers of her generation. Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa, California is named for her.

Achievements

• She came from a family of accomplished basketweavers, including her mother, Annie Ramon Gomachu Burke (1876–1962) and her maternal grandmother, Mary Arnold (1845–1925), both of Cloverdale Rancheria.