Largo, Donna Mae, 1944-2009

Donna Mae Largo (1944-2009) was an elder of the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians, known for her work in the revitalization and preservation of Cahuilla basketry. She was a basketmaker, basketmaking educator, and medicinal plant expert. Largo co-founded the organization Nex’wetem (Southern California Indian Basket Weavers) in 2000, and co-authored the book Medicinal Plants Used by Native American Tribes In Southern California (Malki-Ballena Press, 2009).

Largo was born on the Soboba Reservation in San Jacinto, California. She began her involvement with basket weaving in the early 1970s, while organizing workshops as the coordinator of the Hemet Unified School District's Indian Education Program. In the course of organizing basketry workshops for the program’s students, Largo began to learn from Elizabeth Mojada, who was then considered one of the last basket weavers from the Soboba Reservation. After Mojada’s death, Largo continued learning with Rosalie Valencia from the Cahuilla Reservation.

In the mid-1980s, Largo and Valencia began to teach Cahuilla basket weaving classes at the Idyllwild School of Music and Arts summer workshops, which Largo continued teaching for the rest of her life. Largo consulted and taught at museums including the Autry Museum (Los Angeles, California), Grace Hudson Museum (Ukiah, California), and Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (Palm Springs, California).

Largo was a lifelong resident of Hemet, California. She worked as a community health representative & educator for Riverside San Bernardino County Indian Health, Inc.