{{Short description|Cherokee basket weaver from Oklahoma}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox artist | name = Mike Dart | image = mikedart.jpg | image_size = 200px | alt = | caption = Dart {{circa}} 2007 | birth_name = Michael Lee Dart | birth_date = {{Birth date|1977|02|01}} | birth_place = Siloam Springs, Arkansas, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | known_for = Basket weaving | training = Self-taught | movement = Basketry | notable_works = | patrons = | awards = Cherokee National Treasure (2017)<ref name=Henson/> | elected = | website = }}
'''Michael Lee Dart''' (born February 1, 1977) is a Native American basket weaver and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, who lives in Oklahoma.<ref name="Henson">{{cite news |last1=Henson |first1=Kelley |title=Cherokee National Treasures Dart, Hummingbird pass on knowledge |url=https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/cherokee-national-treasures-dart-hummingbird-pass-on-knowledge/article_9807a80e-299e-5483-aae3-e5a07bc6756a.html |access-date=13 June 2023 |work=Cherokee Phoenix |date=July 19, 2018}}</ref>
==Background== Michael Dart was born on February 1, 1977, in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. He is based in Adair County, Oklahoma.<ref name=Henson/> Growing up, he watched his grandmother Pauline Dart weave baskets and build woven furniture from willow, hickory and other materials native to the land around her home. He took up basketry at age 16.<ref name=Henson/>
==Basket weaving== Dart is a Cherokee artist, specializing in the art of double-wall basketry, a difficult technique involving the continuous weave of both an interior and exterior wall within each basket.
He learned the art of basketry in 1992 from weaver Shawna Morton-Cain, also a Cherokee National Treasure.<ref name="nfic">{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=Cherokee basketry artist to be featured at Coffeyville gathering |url=http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2195 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723154434/http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2195 |archive-date=2011-07-23 |access-date=2026-05-03 |website=News from Indian Country}}</ref>
Dart's baskets often uses commercial rattan reed and brightly colored aniline dyes. However, he also gathers, processes, and weaves with local materials such as honeysuckle and buckbrush (''Symphoricarpos orbiculatus'').<ref name=Henson/> He also uses natural dyes such as black walnut hulls, bloodroot, and Osage orange wood.<ref name=Henson/>
Using commercial materials permits him to experiment more freely, and there are certain colors he likes to use that cannot be obtained from local natural dyes. He defines the difference between traditional and contemporary as the following: "A Cherokee basket is classified as traditional if it is woven in a traditional way, and all the materials and dyed are natural. A Cherokee basket is classified as contemporary if it is woven in a traditional way using commercially manufactured materials and dyes. Some weavers will use both natural and commercial materials. This is called using 'mixed mediums' and it fits into the contemporary category."<ref>Coats, Charlotte. ''Weaving the Oklahoma Cherokee Double Wall Basket.'' Garden Grove, California: C. Coats: 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-9789657-1-6}}.</ref>
<gallery> Image:Mikedart3.jpg|"War Cry" by Mike Dart Image:Mikedart2.jpg|"Large Gathering Basket" by Mike Dart </gallery>
==Art career== Dart's baskets have earned prizes throughout northeastern Oklahoma. These include the Cherokee National Holiday Art Show in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the Art Under the Oaks Art Show at the Five Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and one of the largest Native American art shows in the region, the Trail of Tears Art Show and Sale<ref name="nfic" /> at the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, Oklahoma.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cherokee Heritage Center::Cherokee Nation Website |url=https://www.cherokee.org/visit-us/cherokee-heritage-center/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710214957/https://www.cherokee.org/visit-us/cherokee-heritage-center/ |archive-date=2019-07-10 |access-date=2026-05-19 |website=Cherokee Nation Website |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2016, he presented a replica of a wood splint burden basket at the Chickasaw Nation's Artesian Art Market, where it won "Best of Show"<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Hunter |first=Chad |date=2020-04-23 |title=Basketry specialist offers online demos |url=https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/basketry-specialist-offers-online-demos/article_c8f93d85-f436-5898-a407-3e83b5b1559a.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704012531/https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/basketry-specialist-offers-online-demos/article_c8f93d85-f436-5898-a407-3e83b5b1559a.html |archive-date=2023-07-04 |access-date=2026-05-19 |work=cherokeephoenix.org |language=en}}</ref> and was featured in the book ''Oklahoma Cherokee Baskets.''<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Karen Coody |title=Oklahoma Cherokee Baskets |date=2016-06-13 |publisher=History Press Library Editions |isbn=978-1540203359 |location=Charleston, SC |page=79 |language=en}}</ref> Dart also exhibits his baskets and has won recognition in Native American art markets nationally.
In 2017, Dart was designated a Cherokee National Living Treasure for his skill in creating traditional and contemporary basketry using traditional materials<ref name="Henson" /><ref name=":0" /> and for the promotion, Perpetuation and Education of Cherokee Basketry to Cherokee Citizens.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026|reason=Need source that states Dart was designated a Living Treasurer for the promoting: "Perpetuation and Education of Cherokee Basketry to Cherokee Citizens".}} He received the award from former Principal Chief Bill John Baker.<ref name=Henson/>
Dart's work has been exhibited in the Cherokee National Museum during various art shows,<ref name="Henson" /> and also in the Cherokee Heritage Center<ref name="nfic" /> in Park Hill, Oklahoma.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hunter |first=Chad |date=2025-09-29 |title=New, improved Cherokee Heritage Center gets green light |url=https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/new-improved-cherokee-heritage-center-gets-green-light/article_3aad3e7c-5a29-4120-b445-8b1f81069b69.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251001035606/https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/new-improved-cherokee-heritage-center-gets-green-light/article_3aad3e7c-5a29-4120-b445-8b1f81069b69.html |archive-date=2025-10-01 |access-date=2026-05-27 |work=cherokeephoenix.org |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *List of Native American artists *List of Native American artists from Oklahoma *Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090830214500/http://www.gwyartists.info/Mike_Dart.html Mike Dart], Cherokee Artist's Association * [https://osiyo.tv/cherokee-basket-weaving-with-mike-dart/ "Cherokee Basket Weaving with Mike Dart"], ''Osiyo TV''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dart, Mike}} Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Cherokee Nation male artists Category:Cherokee Nation artists Category:People from Siloam Springs, Arkansas Category:Native American basket weavers Category:Weavers from Oklahoma Category:People from Adair County, Oklahoma Category:Weavers from Arkansas Category:21st-century American male artists Category:21st-century Native American artists Category:20th-century American artists Category:20th-century Native American artists