The Marion Steinbach Indian Basket Museum was added
to the Gatekeeper’s Museum in 1992, after the
collection was donated to NLTHS. Marion Steinbach
pursued a wide variety of interests throughout her
lifetime, and loved anything that had to do with nature—the
study of which inspired her collections.
Throughout Marion’s lifetime, she amassed a
world-class collection of over 800 utilitarian and
fine baskets from 85 tribes throughout California
and western North America. In addition to collecting
baskets, Marion also collected Native clothing, jewelry,
tools and pottery. Pottery from Maria Martinez is
featured in the collection.
Desire for knowledge about the art of basket weaving
sent Marion looking for the few Indian women who were
weaving fine baskets using traditional methods. Trips
to remote areas frequently led to an afternoon sitting
under a big shady oak tree, visiting with a weaver.
Marion cultivated relationships with these women,
and would sit with her notebook and pencil, taking
meticulous notes, trying to learn as much as she could
about this art. Her fear was that one day, these older
women of great skill would be gone and fine basket
making would become a lost art. Sharing her knowledge
by teaching basket weaving classes, talking with others
and showing her baskets gave Marion much pleasure.
Along with her collection were extensive notes about
basketry techniques and records of where, when and
how much she originally paid for each basket. The
collection was her treasure that she wanted to share
with others. Her wish was that the baskets remain
together as a single collection, and that all of them
would be on display at the same time. After her passing,
the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society received the
collection from Marion’s family, and helped
to realize Marion’s dream with the construction
of the Steinbach Indian Basket Museum to house her
collection.
