Baskets and Containers: The Maliseet people used baskets and containers for a multitude of purposes. They used them to hold food, to carry water, to hold personal belongings, and to cook. They were made with the bark of cedar and birch trees. Black spruce root or animal sinew would be used to sew the containers together. Sometimes decorations were made on the birchbark using dyed porcupine quills or roots. For the construction of woven baskets, black ash would be cut and split into four quarters, in lengths ranging from two to six feet. These would then be pounded into slender splints to be woven into baskets by skilled hands. Although there are some contemporary creations, most of the baskets and containers held in the CMC collection were gathered during the late 1800s.

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