The Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the Michigan State University Museum, in collaboration with Native American basketmakers' organizations across the country, will launch a multi-year, multi-faceted celebration of the rich, living Native basket traditions of North America and Hawaii. Through a festival, exhibition, and other related activities, Carriers of Culture: Living Native Basket Traditions will examine the ways in which Native baskets—and their makers—are literally and symbolically "carriers of culture."

In the summer of 2006, approximately 80 Native American basketmakers will be featured at the 40th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Festival visitors will see master Native artists demonstrate the outstanding weaving traditions of their respective communities. They will learn about the inter-relationship of basketry to other tribal cultural knowledge associated with ceremonies, language, stories, dance, song, and foodways. Through live demonstrations, dance performances, discussion sessions, and hands-on activities, Carriers of Culture will explore how Native basketmakers have acquired and sustained their extraordinary skills and knowledge.