Becky Thomas-Meziere
Becky Thomas-Meziere is a traditional pine needle basket maker of Choctaw descent currently living in Natchitoches parish, LA. 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 and how to use raw material to make baskets. A renowned master basket weaver with over 30 years of experience, Becky has received numerous awards, the most recent The Diverse Heritage Award from The Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation (LTHP). Her baskets are in private and public collections throughout the world to include The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. She has demonstrated her traditional art form 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 demonstrating her pine needle basket making. She is currently active in promoting awareness to traditional pine needle basket making and the importance of passing down this rare art form to younger generations.
A renowned master basket weaver with over 30 years of experience
As a young child Becky’s mother handed down the traditional Native American methods and techniques of gathering long leaf pine needles in the forest and learning to make baskets.
Becky was taught by her mother the traditional Native American method of gathering long leaf pine needles from the local forest and then the art of weaving
