She was the youngest daughter of Captain Jim,[a] also known by his traditional name He'nu-keha, the principal chief of the Washoe people and an ally of the United States government in the region.

In the spring and summer, the Washoe would camp on the southern shore of Lake Tahoe, near the modern-day Tallac Village, California, where they would cater to the large tourist population.

Mayo worked as a domestic servant at ranch houses, and she would make and sell traditional Washoe baskets to both tourists and ranchers.

[13] Mayo expanded the traditional Washoe color scheme, which consisted solely of black and red, to include brown, yellow, green, gray, and pink.

Mayo also influenced weavers from other tribes in the region, including Lucy Telles and Daisy Charley of the Kucadɨkadɨ and Yosemite Miwok groups.

[21] Unlike the typically exploitative relationship between a white patron and a non-white artist, Dressler treated Mayo as an equal, and the two became genuine friends.

Dubbed the Presentation Basket, it was created for President Woodrow Wilson as a gift and political gesture to remind the United States government of the historical alliance with the Washoe.

[5][3] The basket was intended as a way to entice the government to send aid to the struggling Washoe tribe, whose population had decreased to just three hundred.

Captain Jim was portrayed standing on flat ground and surrendering his rifle, a symbol of the good-will established between the United States and the Washoe during the Paiute War.

[4][13] Mayo's inclusion of herself was controversial within the Washoe community, with some women accusing her of claiming high-status in the traditionally egalitarian society and ostracizing her due to allegations of witchcraft.

[25] The basket was accompanied by a letter "explaining the rights and needs of the Washoe, again recalling the debt owed them by virtue of Captain Jim Henukeha's aid to whites and surrender of arms in 1860".

According to American ethnographer Warren d'Azevedo, the basket was delivered to President Wilson, who wrote a letter to the Washoe expressing his thanks but took no further action to better their situation.

[5][26] Despite these funds, the Washoe were unable to convince any local ranchers to sell their lands, besides the Dresslers, who sold a substantial portion of their ranchland.

[9] Following her death, The Sacramento Bee wrote that "for more than forty years she was one of the best known Indian women in Nevada, and exercised a wide influence on the acceptance of the ways of the white men by her people".