She is closely related to the very accomplished basket maker, Adeline Lomayestewa. For much of his life, he subsisted as a farmer and basket maker. In cultural events, she represented her town as a basket maker. Kelly Church, a fifth-generation basket maker, was born in 1967. Likewise, Glancy creates one character, the Basket Maker, specifically to communicate Cherokee ideas about stories. When she met William Benson, she was already a master basket maker.