The Mohegan people were very social and relied on one another for everything from survival to basket-making. Such a heavy emphasis on community helps to keep the traditions of the Mohegan people alive and ensures they are passed from generation to generation. For example, Indian culture is also very community-centric, particularly in regards to family. Cooking traditional Indian food is generally a task that involves help from the whole family. My grandmother has kept this tradition alive and as a result, she has passed down recipes that I make with my roommates in our apartment together. Community keeps traditions like these alive and help to facilitate the passing down of such traditions.

Mohegan culture has stood the test of time. They are still a very traditional and active people. I found this picture of one of the elders of the Mohegan tribe, showing that even in the modern day, the Mohegans are fully rooted in their heritage.

Credit: “d1fa17863692fd76045c8099096273e2.jpg (JPEG Image, 174 × 251 Pixels).” Accessed September 7, 2016. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/d1/fa/17/d1fa17863692fd76045c8099096273e2.jpg.

The symbolic designs captured on the baskets tell their own stories, and therefore make a very convincing argument to include them as texts. The longstanding tradition of making these baskets can provide centuries worth of information about the Mohegan way of life. As stated in the first annotation referencing the supplemental text, these baskets contain a plethora of information that could provide much insight into Mohegan life.

In the article, "Mini Object Lession: Gender in Flight", author Christopher Schaberg addresses how gender is essentially irrelevant when it comes to air travel. Airplanes have gender-neutral bathrooms, and previous stereotypes depicting female stewardesses and male pilots have recently faded. Schaberg's major point in the article is that there is more to a person than their gender. Likewise, the reading about the baskets makes it very clear that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to these baskets. There is a much deeper meaning to these baskets than just a means of carrying fruit. They are decorated with intricate designs and paintings that have their own separate meanings; some even tell stories about historical events. Schaberg argues as well that when a woman seated in the exit row is asked if she is willing and able to help other passengers exit, she is not being accused of weakness for being a female. She is quite literally being asked if she is willing and able-- physically and mentally. Similarly, it matters more whether or not your neighbor on the flight is "an armrest hog, an endless talker, or if they are emitting an overpowering fragrance" than if they are male or female. (Schaberg). When the deeper, more important qualities are overlooked, there doesn't seem to be more to a person or a basket than their gender or basic function. In reality, most things---not just baskets and people-- are more than what is first perceived.

Schaberg, Christopher. “Mini Object Lesson: Gender in Flight - The Atlantic.” Accessed September 7, 2016. http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/06/mini-object-lesson-gender-in-flight/486620/.

This portion shows how detailed the Native way of communication was, which provides us with evidence of their sophistication. By this point in history, the baskets and complicated language are indicative of how art and leisure played a role in the formation of the Mohegan culture and ways of life. They weren't a people that were starving and therefore only focused on hunting and gathering; they had the time to develop sophisticated ways of storytelling.

Women are described as having the same duty as ancient scribes: to document oral histories and other stories into some form of writing. At the time the Mohegans were making these baskets, most of the scribes in other countries were exclusively male. Writing and documenting stories was seen as something scholarly that could only be done by men. This shows how the Natives possibly valued women more so than most European and other Eastern societies did.