(Dat So La Lee and two of her woven baskets.)

Chartered in 1949 as a Post comprised of all women, the members of Post 12 selected Dat So La Lee as the Post namesake.

Dat So La Lee began life with the birth name of Dabuda (translated as “Young Willow” according to Wikipedia), a member of the Washo Tribe.  She was believed to have been born in 1829.  Dabuda married Assu,a fellow tribesman, and had two children who died in childhood.  In following years, Assu died and Dabuda married Thomas Keyser who was part Washo in 1888.  She assumed the married name of Louisa Keyser.  Louisa became a basket weaver famous for her basket weaving prowess.  In 1888 she and her husband Thomas were granted protection by doctor D. S. Lee and she assumed a name similar to the doctor’s - Dat So La Lee – a name by which she continues to be known.   Years later, in 1895, in Carson City, Nevada, her prowess as a basket weaver came to the attention of Abraham Cohn (also spelled Cohen), her sponsor at that time.  Mr. Cohn, was a local merchant who encouraged Dat So La Lee to continue her craft of basket weaving.  Dat So La Lee died December 6, 1929.  She is buried at the Stewart Cemetery on Snyder Avenue in Carson City, Nevada where a nearby marker reads, “Myriads of stars shine over the graves of our ancestors.”  A number of Dat So La Lee’s baskets remain on display in the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, Nevada.

For additional and more detailed information pertaining to Dat So La Lee, please consider:

http://www.unr.edu/nwhp/bios/women/datsola.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dat_So_La_Lee