This Alabama Coushatta tribal vessel stands 4.75" high by 4.75" in diameter. It has a handmade form with a checkerboard pattern motif surrounding the collar. It is beautifully glazed in a bright aqua glaze and finished to a glossy sheen. This pot is well-signed on the base 'Alabama Coushatta Tribes, K.B., M.F.B.' and dated '4/7/80'. It is in fine original condition, no apologies.
The Alabama Coushatta tribes are based in Polk County, TX. The tribes lived in adjacent areas in what is now the state of Alabama, By 1780, the tribes had migrated to modern-day East Texas. Although they were two separate tribes, the Alabamas and Coushattas have been closely associated throughout their history. Their cultures have some differences but for the most part are nearly identical.
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas has the oldest reservation in the state located on approximately 10,200 acres in the Big Thicket of Deep East Texas. The Tribe is a fully functioning sovereign government with a full array of health and human services, including law enforcement and emergency services. There are more than 1,300 members, about half of whom live on the reservation. The Tribe is governed by an elected Tribal Council and advised by a Principal Chief, Donnis Battise, Mikko Choba, Chief Kanicu, and Second Chief, Millie Thompson Williams, Mikko Istimatokla, Chief Poliika Istaaya. The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center maintains two extensive collections of Alabama-Coushatta craftwork. The Frances Broemer Collection of Alabama-Coushatta Indian Artifacts and the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Collection include rivercane baskets, long leaf pine needle baskets, beadwork items, pottery, wood carvings, and other craftwork. Basketry and beadwork make up the majority of the items, which were created by tribe members at the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation in Polk County, Texas. Items date primarily from the 1930s to the 1990s.