Elsie Allen

Elsie Comanche Allen was born on September 22, 1899, near Santa Rosa, California. Her parents, George and Annie Comanche As a child, Allen was raised by her grandmother near the Pomo village of Cloverdale, located north of Lake Mendocino in northern California. At that time, she spoke only the Pomo language. After her father died in 1907 when she was eight, her mother remarried and moved the family to Hopland. She endured additional unpleasant experiences and engaged in several activities that seemed meaningless to her, which contributed to her lack of motivation to learn. Consequently, she attended the boarding school for less than a year before deciding to transfer to a day school near Hopland, where she felt more comfortable. As she continued her education at the day school, Allen became proficient in English. Additionally, she contributed financially to her family by working in the fields while she attended school. At 18, Allen moved to San Francisco seeking jobs outside of farm labor, eventually finding work in housekeeping and as a hospital worker. In 1919, she married Arthur Allen, who was a northern Pomo, and shortly thereafter, they returned to Hopland. Between 1920 and 1928, the couple had four children: Genevieve, Leonard, Dorothy, and George. During this time, Allen went back to working in the fields while raising her children. == Activism ==

Through her involvement in civic groups, Allen became a strong advocate for the Pomo people. She participated in several Pomo and Hintil women's clubs, which aimed to promote education, advocate for Indigenous rights, and preserve cultural practices within their communities. These clubs offered scholarships, and Allen contributed to their funding by making and selling baskets. In May 1942, eleven-year-old Marceline Allen, a Pomo girl, was ordered to move to a balcony section at the State Theater in Ukiah, California, solely because she was Native American. Marceline's mother filed a discrimination lawsuit, Marceline Allen vs. the State Theater, seeking $1,000 in damages. This lawsuit was financially supported by the Pomo Mothers Club, in which Elsie Allen and her mother, Anne Burke, were active members. Eventually, the case was settled out of court, with the theater agreeing to pay a penalty and change its discriminatory practices. This victory compelled many local businesses to also end their blatant discrimination against Indian people. In the 1970s, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) planned the Warm Spring Dam and Lake Sonoma in Northern Sonoma County to reduce flooding on vineyard properties. The construction of the dam presented a serious threat to the cultural sites and ancestral villages of the Makahmo and Mahilakawna Pomo tribes, as well as to locations where materials like sedge, used in traditional basket-making, were gathered. The Native American Advisory Committee for the Warm Springs Cultural Resources Study was formed to work with archaeologists, historians, linguists, and botanists to assess the cultural impact of the dam's construction. The committee, which included Allen and other prominent basket weavers such as Mabel McKay, Lucy Smith, and Laura Somersal, documented the history of the Makahmo and Mahilakawna Pomo. Allen continued this Pomo tradition of female leadership. She addressed issues affecting women and worked to improve the lives of her community and Native Americans across the United States while also preserving Pomo basket-making traditions. Due to her lifelong dedication, Allen became recognized as a cultural scholar, earning her the nickname "the Pomo Sage" and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. ==Basketry==

The Pomo people traditionally lived in the area around the Russian River in California, including Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake counties. As a child, Allen learned to gather plants for basket weaving by observing her mother and grandmother. Co-founded by Allen and her mother, along with other weavers, With Billy, Allen felt she had found an apprentice who would carry on the basket weaving tradition and teach it to others. Published in 1972, Elsie Allen wrote Pomo Basketmaking: A Supreme Art for the Weaver. In this work, Allen provides detailed explanations and photographs that describe the Pomo's basket-making techniques. She shares her life story and offers insights on how to gather materials and create various styles of baskets. Moreover, the book preserved Allen's techniques, serving as an instruction manual for future generations in the art of Pomo basket weaving. ==Southern Pomo language==

Allen worked with linguist Abraham M. Halpern to document the Southern Pomo language. ==Legacy==

Allen died on December 31, 1990, at the age of 91. Allen is the subject of several books, including Dot Brovarney, Susan Billy, and Suzanne Abel-Vidor's 2005 Remember Your Relations: Elsie Allen Baskets, Family, And Friends and Sandra J. Metzler's 1996 A promise kept: Basketry of the Pomo and the Elsie Allen basket collection. Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa, California, is named for her. ==Published work==

• Allen, Elsie. Pomo Basketmaking: A Supreme Art for the Weaver. Red. ed. Happy Camp, California: Naturegraph Publishers, Inc. (1972). ==See also==