Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Ribbon Skirts in Haudenosaunee Country

Ribbon Skirts in Haudenosaunee Country


There has been an incredible resurgence of Indigenous clothing styles happening all across turtle island. Beaded medallions are worn for everyday occasions, native designers are producing wonderful clothing lines, and the amount of sweet Native T-shirts available is just so satisfying. 

One article of clothing which has gotten much attention lately is the "Ribbon Skirt". All across Indian Country, the ribbon skirt has become the garment of choice for formal occasions public and private. The designs are myriad but the essential use of colorful ribbon borders and cloth foundations are the standard. 

More than a few people have asked me about the historic nature of the garment and whether or not it could be considered "traditional" to Haudenosaunee people. I hope that this post can help folks understand a bit about tradition and also about clothing history too.

Tradition is simply something that happens twice in a row usually. Native folks create new traditions all the time, and what was once traditional could be considered old fashioned and out of date tomorrow.  

I am reminded of the era where the western "war bonnet" was so commonly seen in Haudenosaunee country. For a time, it was traditional headwear but that changed slowly and now the ash splint gustoweh is considered the traditional headdress - but even today, folks are looking into older styles and customs and bringing them forward like the porcupine quilled headdresses that are sometimes seen around. Things change and old becomes new and what was new becomes old. 

To address the question of the women's ribbon skirt we should know a few things first. One, is that, modern cloth and ribbons are materials that were available only after Native people demanded them in the colonial period. But for Haudenosaunee people, that sort of commerce began a LONG time ago. By the mid 1600's,  European goods were well known and commonly found in every Haudenosaunee community. Think about that for a second. That's a 350 year old traditional use of European cloth. I'd say that is a pretty strong tradition. 

Cloth in all it's forms made up slightly more than half of the European goods incorporated into indigenous households during this colonial period. Here is a chart (stolen directly from "To Do Justice To Him and Myself" by Kees-Jan Waterman - worth picking up a copy...) identifying the percentage of trade goods that went out from a prominent Albany traders family. 




From this cloth could be made: shirts, leggings, breech cloths, wearing blankets (matchcoats), hoods, mittens and yes. Skirts. Wrap skirts to be specific. These are simple garments made from a single length of cloth (wool most often) and decorated with silk ribbon in broad stacks of primary colors. Sometimes simple beaded edges or beaded decorations inside the ribbon trim were done. They were usually made to wrap around the hips with an overlap to one side of the dominant leg. 

This is the origins of the classic Haudenosaunee women's skirt. Later, it becomes heavily beaded in beautiful lace beadwork designs. We can see that sort of skirt appearing in the mid 19th century. Here is an example form the NYS Museum that Caroline Parker-Mt Pleasant made during this period. 



But what did the early examples from the 1700's look like? It's unfortunate that scant few extant examples exist. We get most of the information about what they looked like from descriptions, ledgers of available fabric and ribbon, and historic images of women from this era. 

I am going to post a few images that show skirts of this era to give an idea of the variety but also of the cut and color pallet that these women preferred. 

This first image is of Saint Kateri Tekawitha believed to be painted by Father Chauchetiere in the late 17th century. It still hangs in Kahnawake since that time. 




Her clothing is typical of the late 17th century. Her "dress" is actually a patterned cloth shirt worn outside as a tunic. Patterned shirts were strictly a Native preference and traders complied with their tastes whenever they saw the change. Her skirt is a simple wrap skirt with subtle ribbon trim and matching side seam leggings. 

The next image is an engraving from La Potherie (1722) of Haudenosaunee women dancing. I've seen some of these moves on some women today! The clothing is much the same as the 17th century. Simple wrap skirts trimmed in ribbon or woven tape, loose shirts but with the possible addition of an over coat like garment called a cassique/mantlet/bedgown. 




Take notice of the women's hairstyles. They are parted down in the middle, with a single gathered and folded braid in the  back. These "clubs" of hair are then wrapped in ribbon, or cloth or even shiny tanned eel skins. Sometimes these hair clubs were covered in wampum. Here is an image of two such wampum hair wraps. 



The next image is from the studio of Benjamin West, an American-born artist who became known for his images of Native people while in England later in his life. This example shows a wonderful detail of women's clothing of the mid 18th century. The woman wears a cloth shirt (a bit unusual to be sleeveless but maybe cut down for summer use) with one arm out of its sleeve for nursing. Her skirt is a great example of ribbon or tape decorations. The white zigzag decorations are probably round glass "seed" beads sewn down one at a time which we see in other examples of clothing from this era. Her side-seam leggings are scalloped and trimmed out in ribbon like her skirt. Her moccasins are worn with the flap up and the leggings tucked inside. When wearing moccasins outdoors this prevents small pebbles or even ticks from getting inside your clothing. 



This next image is an anonymous image from the 18th century. By the style and by the "hand" my best guess is that it was done by James Peachey, a artist working in the late 18th century with Native peoples being a favorite subject. It clearly shows a woman wearing a wrap skirt trimmed in ribbon or woven tape with small silver ring brooches in a simple horizontal pattern. Her wearing blanket (Matchcoat) is also trimmed in rows of ribbon as are her red wool leggings. 



This next image is a detail from Thomas Davies painting of Fort La Galette on the St Lawrence River. You can see the Haudenosaunee woman wearing her blue wool skirt decorated in rows of yellow ribbon. She might be wearing buckskin leggings or possibly they are yellow wool like her wearing blanket. 



These next two images are of Wendat/Wyandot people from the last quarter of the 18th century. Both women are wearing simple wrap skirts. Incidentally, the women are likely selling fingerwoven sashes which are held draped over their arms. Street vendors would walk around city centers or waterfronts selling their wares. Native women were known to sell herbs, moccasins, baskets and sashes in this method around Montreal during this period. 



 
 





















It is important to look at historic references to add some detail to what we might be looking at in the painted or drawn images. 

"The dress which particularly distinguishes the women is a petticoat or strowd, blue, red or black, made of a piece of cloth about two yards long, adorned with red, blue or yellow bands laid double and bound about the body."
History of the Northern American Indians by David Zeisberger 1779-1780 among the Delaware and Mingo (Ohio Valley Seneca)

"...they wear a skirt of deerskin or cloth instead of a loincloth. This goes around the body, and is doubled over a belt or cord around the hips. This skirt, called a "matchicote", reached only to the knees, and often has ribbons for decoration or ornaments around the bottom, as well as porcupine quills and little bells."
Travels in New France by J.C. Bonnin 1751-1761

"the women wear an under petticoat called machicote, made of an ell of blue or red cloth of the quality like that of Berri or Carcassonne. The lower edge is ornamented with several strips of yellow, blue and red ribbon or English edge lace. This arrangement resembles a couriers frock. It is fastened around the waist by a strap. The shirt passes over and cover this."
Memoir upon the Late War in North America 1755-60 by Pierre Pouchot

We can also look at dolls of this time period. This is a wonderful doll from Cambridge showing a few details that are of importance. She is wearing the ubiquitous wrap skirt trimmed in woven tape and some simple beadwork. Also take notice of her beaded garters and a curious beaded cuff. It turns out the other cuff was removed and tucked into her beaded belt behind her back. These cuffs seem to be associated with both men and women. 



Father Lafitau in the 17th century illustrates and describes their use. "1&2, Figures of the Indians of the Iroquois and Huron Tribes clothed in modern style, man and woman...8, Bracelet of wampum worked in little cylinders"
You can see clearly the woman and the man wearing these wampum bracelets. For an incomplete but relevant survey of these wampum and imitation glass wampum cuffs see, "Wampum Held by the Oneida Indian Nation, Inc. of New York: Research Relating to Wampum Cuffs and Belts" by Marshall Becker. Take notice of the small illustration numbered "8" which shows the cuff/bracelet clearly as an object. 


Here is an example of the wampum cuff at the Peabody Museum Harvard. 


To get back on track, here is a doll from the Wendat/Wyandot (Huron) people dated to the last quarter of the 18th century. She is wearing a wonderful printed cloth shirt with copious imitation glass wampum strands as a necklace and as earrings. Her skirt is trimmed in green wool woven ribbon/tape. 




My hope is that this is posting is a basic tutorial for women's dress of the colonial period but mostly to demonstrate the use of ribbon skirts among the Haudenosaunee. 

I am in no way any sort of cultural "police" who says what is traditional or not. I am just helping define the style, color and fit of this garment for this time period and hopefully informing folks about a tradition that was once the most common among their ancestors. I also want to suggest that these old style skirts ARE the actual ancestors of the modern ribbon skirt. 

Have fun and enjoy life as the Creator intended. 

Michael
















Sunday, August 18, 2019

1666 Paris Record "Iroquois Family" Document



1666 Paris Record “Iroquois Families” document
August 18, 2019 Redux

Michael Galban, Jamie Jacobs & George Hamell



The famous 1666 document has been republished and quoted often by many writers. The version which most people cite is translated in New York Colonial Documents (9:47-50) and can be found in The Documentary History of the State New York by E.B. O’Callaghan (pp, 3-11) Because of the detail of the drawings and the cultural meanings captured within, the document has been of great use as a tool for teaching about clan lineage, 17th century negotiation, wampum and even captive-taking. 

Fenton believed it to be “probably Seneca” in origin, likely due to the timing of a Seneca contingency of ten Seneca Chiefs, who appear in New France in early spring of 1666 to negotiate a treaty of peace. The latter page that shows a person’s tattoo scheme, a representation of the Potato Clan, a war club and a captivity tool come directly from a “board” that appears in their cabins. This is curious because if the document is Seneca in origin due to the ambassadors to France in 1666, then why, are they viewing a board “typically found in a cabin”? Could these images come from one of the two French invasions of the Mohawk Valley in 1666? In the fall of 1666, the French attack four Mohawk towns and could have quite possibly seen or taken one of these bark documents then. The only problem I see with this scenario is the number of clans represented in the main image. Nine clans are shown and yet Mohawk people have only three clans. The main image could be from a general overview of the complexity and diversity of all of the Haudenosaunee peoples or it is a record of a specific event which included representatives of these nine clans. Either way, I suggest that the origins of the document and iconography are not simply “probably Seneca”. 

Since its first English translation in the mid-19th century, not many have investigated the details and clarity of the English version. If you carefully read the O’Callaghan translation some of it makes so little sense as to be nearly meaningless. So, I decided to re-translate the French version and add to it some ethnological and cultural ideas, some history and an accurate Haudenosaunee word translation which will help future scholars. 

Please keep in mind, that what we are seeing is a French copy of a Haudenosaunee depiction and then what we see in “Colonial Documents” is a re-drawing of the French re-drawing. At this point it gets to be a visual game of telephone. So, I am reproducing the original French crayon drawing so that we can get as close to the original intent as possible. 

I enlisted the help of Jamie Jacobs (Tonawanda Seneca) with the early Haudenosaunee words. The languages of each the Haudenosaunee nations at this point in history were mutually intelligible and nearly identical. Comparisons of dictionaries compiled in both Seneca and Mohawk country prove this out. George Hamell was also instrumental in unraveling the mystery of the “Potato Clan” people. I will include quotes from his work here as well. Nyaweh Jamie & George!

If a linguist wishes to make notes or additions to this document, please feel free to send your updates into the comments section. This can become a living document where Haudenosaunee linguists, academics and scholars can improve on our work. 

At the end of the translation I will include images of the original document as it appears in the archives of the French government. 








The Nine Iroquois Clans

The Iroquois Nation is composed of nine families which makes two bands, one of four families the other of five families.
They call the first band Guéyniotiteshsgué ¹ this means the four families, they call the second band Ouicheniotishesgué ² this means the five families.
  *note found written in the margin: [ it is called Atiniathin³]
The first family (clan) is the Turtle, it is the first one because they assert that when the master of life made the earth, he made it on a turtle, and when there are earthquakes it is because the turtle is shaking.
The second family (clan) is the Wolf and is called Enanthayonni⁴ or Cayenyisenhonon and is the brother of the Turtle family. When war matters are at stakes, they deliberate together, and if the matter is of great importance, they inform the other families for the purpose of deliberating together, as well as all the other families. they assemble in the cabin of a war chief when it is a matter of war, and when it is an ordinary State affair it is in the cabin of a council chief.
The third family (clan) is the one of the Bear which they call Atinionguin⁵.
The fourth family (clan) is the one of the Beaver and is the bear’s brother. These four first families compose the first band they call Guéy niontiteshesgué.

Second Band

The fifth family (clan) is the of the Deer which they call Canendeshé.⁶
The sixth is the one of the Potato which they call Schoneshioronon.⁷
The seventh is the one of the Great Plover which they call Otinanchahé.⁸
The eighth is the one of the Little Plover which they call Asco or Nicohes.
The ninth is the one of the Kiliou⁹ which they call Canonchahonronon¹⁰. They call these five families Ouichiniotititeshesgué. 
These families (clans) then make the nine villages which were assembled to support war with more ease. The nine families (clans) originate in a cabin that sits inside the territory, and composed of many fires or households. In the middle of the cabin was a partition that divided the cabin in two.
The people were bothered because they knew no one else and hence could not marry, they all married each other [to one and each other] this is why their name means two cabins [united] together.
Each family (clan) has its family animal painted on the gable of the cabin, some painted in black, the others in red.
When they are gathered for some council, the first band goes to one side of the fire lit in the cabin, and the other band goes on the other side.
When the matter for which they are gathered is discussed in depth on each side, they each tell their resolution to the other side.
The band which decides upon the matter makes two resolution in order to take the best one and submit all the objections one could make against its resolution in order to show everything was well discussed.
They usually go with the first resolution unless there are some strong reasons to oppose it.
When they go to war and want to warn people who may cross their paths that they are a war party, they depict the animal of their family holding an ax in its right paw, sometimes it is a saber or a war club; and if in the war party are many families (clans), each one depicts its family (clan) animal and number who joined the party. The whole thing is on a tree from which they removed the bark. It is the animal of the family (clan) which is the master of the party that is always depicted first.
Usually they set up a rendezvous point when they leave for an attack, where, if they are pursued, they leave behind some guards and ammunition. When they are fighting they are well matachés ¹¹ (body painted), and they wear only the breech clout and moccasins.
When it is a large war party they leave 100 or 150 people, some leagues away from the village they are about to attack.
After the strike if they have case-tête or warclubs, they lay it against a corpse leaning towards the village that the deceased was from.



When they return, if they have prisoner or scalps they depict their family animal (clan) standing with a stick on the shoulder, with the scalps they took hanging from it. Following the animal are the captives they have taken with a chichicois¹² in the right hand, if there are women they depict them with a cadenette or couette [braided hair] and a skirt.
If there are many families (clans) in the war party, each one depicts its family animal with the scalps and prisoners as explained above, but they are always placed after the family (clan) which is the leader of the party. 
When they have scalps, they give them to one or two men who carry these on their belt, hanging to their back.
The men who have scalps, follow the others from a certain distance, about a quarter of a league, they say it is because if they are fleeing and have scalps, and travel in front, the captives cannot walk because there as seized with fear at the sight of the flowing blood. This is only for the first day of walk, sometimes for the second and the third when they are pursued.
As soon as they are joined (by the pursuer) they warn the others and then each one flees on his side or they wait for the enemy. At dusk they dig a pit in the ground where they light their fire with bark to cook their meat, when they have some. They do this for three or four days.
They tie the captives to a post they stick in the ground. They have the captives leg or rather the foot of the slave go through the post and the post is closed by another which is tied to the first at the height of a man. They have a man sleeping on each side of the slave, and they take turns visiting them from time to time during the night.



When they have lost some of their people on the battle field, they draw men with the legs up and headless, the same number as they lost. To show the family (clan) they were from, they depict the deceased ones’ family (clan) animal leaning on its back, the legs up. If it is the war chief who died, the animal is headless.

If there are wounded ones, they depict a broken gun but still attached to the stock or they depict a broken arrow. To show where they are wounded, they depict the wounded one’s family (clan) animal with an arrow that goes through the wound location, and if it is a musket shot, they put the mark of the musket ball on the body of the animal, using another color.

If they have sick ones and must carry them, they depict stretchers in the same number as the sick ones; as they could carry only one per stretcher.

When they are within thirty or forty leagues from the village, they send runners ahead to warn of their arrival and to tell what happened to them. Then each one makes ready to receive the prisoners when there are some, and to inflict to each the torments they find suitable.

Those who are condemned to the fires are brought to the cabin which has been assigned to them. All the warriors are gathered in a war cabin, after they send for them (the captives) to have them sing and dance and to torment them until they are brought to the post.

Meanwhile, two or three young folks are preparing the post, they make a fire close to it and keep the musket barrels ready.

When everything is ready, they bring him (the prisoner) and tie him to the post. Then they burn him. When he is burnt up to the stomach, they untie him and break all of his fingers, and they scalp him. They let the scalp hang in the back on little tab of skin they leave on the head for the purpose of holding the scalp. They make him die in this suffering, upon which they all take a piece of him and go on feasting.


Explanation of what is on the sheet of paper

A   This is a party which comes back from war. They have taken a prisoner and killed a man and a woman whose scalps are hanging on a stick he carries

B   A Prisoner

C   The Chichicois he holds in his hand [266 verso]

D   These are the ropes he is tied with, at the neck, arms and belt

E   This is the scalp. What is next to it is the braided hair          [cadenette]

F   This is the scalp of a woman. They depict it with loose hair

G   A war council between the family (Clan) of the Bear and the family (Clan) of the Beaver. They are brothers.

H   A Bear

I    A beaver

L   This is a wampum belt that it holds in his paws, for avenging the death of someone, and he is conferring this with the Beaver

K   Council upon affairs of state

M   It is the Bear

N   It is the elders (council) fire

O   This is the Turtle and the other families (clans)

P   Canoe going to war

Q   Paddles. By the number of paddles they know how many men are in the canoe because they place as many paddles as there are men. Underneath they paint the animal of the family (Clan) they belong to

R   This is the canoe

S   This is a man who comes back from hunting, who slept two night on his hunting trip and who has killed three does; because when they are males they drawn the antlers. What is shown on his back is a pack/bundle

T   A Deer head. This is how they paint it.

V   This is how they mark the time they spent hunting. Each mark or each bar is a day.

Y   The way they depict the dead. The two first ones are men, the third is a woman who is only distinguished by the skirt she wears.

Regarding the dead, they bury them with everything they own. When it is a man, they paint red calumets on the tomb, they are peace calumets. Sometimes they plant a post on which they paint how many times he went to war, and how many prisoners he took. The post is usually four or five French feet tall and well mataché (painted). 



The portrait of a Native man that they usually paint on a board in their cabin. How many times he went to war and how many men he took or killed.

a   These are the tattoos he has on his body.

b   This is how they mark when they went to war. When there is a bar hanging from a mark to another, this means that after going on a war party he [the man] didn’t come back right after to the village and went again with another war party he joined or assembled.

c   This broken arrow shows the body parts where he was wounded

d   This is how they depict when wampum belts are given for raising war parties and for avenging the death of someone who belonged to them or someone from the same family (Clan).

e   He returned to war without entering the village.

f   A man who has been killed on the battlefield and who had a bow and some arrows.

g   These are two men he made prisoner, one had an ax (tomahawk) in his hand and the other a musket.

gg  This is a woman that is distinguished only by a type of skirt

h   This is how they distinguish her from the men.

This is how they draw their portraits



a   This the way to depict the family (Clan) of the potato and not how it is on the other sheet.

b   It is a stick stuck in the ground, at its end, two or three pieces of wood are tied to show the way they went for hunting; and on the nearest tree they paint the animal of the family (Clan) they belong to with the number of muskets they have with them, this is to say, that if there are three men, they paint three muskets, if there are more and someone has a bow instead of a musket they paint a bow.

When coming back from hunting, as they get close to the village they do the same thing and mark the number of beasts they killed, this is to say, they depict the deer and the buck, from the head to the neck, if there are any males they put antlers on it. The other animals are fully drawn. If they have been hunting for a few days, they mark the number of days as explained on the other sheet.


c   The club they used for smashing the head when going to war.





The post used to tie a prisoner. They put the leg between the two posts in the notch on the biggest one, this to say that the two posts go around the leg just above the ankle. Then they tie the two post together as high as a man’s height and sometimes higher. This way, it is impossible to remove the foot without undoing the ropes.






Endnotes

¹ Guéyniotiteshsgué ; modern spelling : Ge:h niodi’sägē:h - meaning; Ge:h (four) ni (how or what) odi (them) ‘sä (root for clan) gē:h ( a number of) - J.Jacobs

² Ouicheniotishesgué ;  Wis (five) ni (how or what) odi (them) ‘sä (root for clan) gē:h ( a number of)
[Jacobs notes that the old pronunciation of “Wis” sounded more like “Owiche”]

³ Atiniathin ; modern spelling : Hadi (they) nyadē:h (are turtles) - J.Jacobs

⁴ Enanthayonni ; modern spelling : Honöta (the road) yöni (its making it longer) – the term for the Wolf Clan. - J.Jacobs

⁵ Atinionguin ; modern spelling : Hatinyagwai’ (they are bears) - J.Jacobs

⁶ Canendeshé ; modern spelling : Ganöndase:’ – the new village, newtown – According to J. Jacobs, the Deer Clan was from a people (Huron possibly) « absorbed by the Haudenosaunee whole and that’s where the Deer clan probably came from.» - J.Jacobs

⁷ Schoneshioronon ; modern spelling Jonesiyo:onö’ – people of the “genesee” (good sand – formerly good valley) this term is possibly related to refugee people who were placed with the western Seneca people of the Genesee Valley; also the term for snipe clan today; accounting for the large Seneca Snipe Clan representation today and the three Seneca Chiefs titles. The title  Ganogaridawi (Snipe Clan doorkeeper) emerges among the western Seneca towns at this same time period. - J.Jacobs

⁸ Otinanchahé ; This term is possibly related to the Honondioga or Heron Clan in modern Seneca tradition. - J.Jacobs

⁹ The Quiliou or Kiliou is known as the “Calumet Bird” in Franco-Anishinabek pidgin. It was also known as a species of eagle. The obvious misunderstanding comes from the similarity of the Hawk (and its associated clan) with other large raptors. See: The Documentary History of the State of New York by O’Callaghan; Vol. I, Ch. I, Art. III - Enumeration of the Indian Tribes Connected with the Government of Canada; The Warriors and Armorial Bearings of Each Nation. 1736. 

¹⁰ Canonchahonronon ; probably a derivative of the modern Seneca term Ganosaonö’ – which means they are of the house. It could relate to the modern Seneca term - Hodiswē’gaiyo’ –- they are of the planks/boards – the modern term for the Hawk Clan. - J.Jacobs

¹¹ Father Du Poisson in 1687 remarks that painted hides of the Quapaw are known as matachés or “painted”. See: The Rumble of a Distant Drum: The Quapaws and Old World Newcomers, 1673-1804, by Morris Arnold. 

¹² The “Chichicois” is the gourd rattle which captives are given and by which they are made to sing their death songs. A pidginized version of an Algonkian term for bottle, chichigoué. 



Images of the original French Documents























Friday, August 9, 2019

Iroquoian Transitional Quillwork


Haudenosaunee Transitional Quilled Bags

There has been a resurgence of interest in the old traditional arts in Haudenosaunee country. I have had the honor of witnessing this first hand. Craftspeople like Kiera Pike (Mohawk) and Jamie Jacobs (Seneca) Samantha Jacobs (Seneca) and Cory McComber (Mohawk) have been applying what a few have been able to glean from the old objects and old documents and have been creating a neo-traditional school of Haudenosaunee arts. I want to continue to support and broaden this resurgence by adding some thoughts and ideas into where this all went long ago. 

There is a clear difference between pre 1800 hair embroidery of the Northeast and the very well known souvenir beadwork from the 19th century. For many people that particular style of decorative work has really come to be regarded as the most "Iroquoian" in style and fashion. But the "old" fashioned work of the colonial period seems to have died away quickly after 1800. Probably due to a lot of outside factors, new agricultural and economic pressures, a lack of the need for certain objects related to warfare or war-related status, market-driven pressure to produce more objects for the tourist market which has shifted from war-time souvenirs collected during military service to true tourist collecting. Whatever the reasons were the fact remains that a shift had occurred in the artistic and stylistic traditions in Haudenosaunee art and craft which would reverberate until today. 

There exists however, a short period of time during the late 18th c and into the early 19th c where some artisans were attempting to keep up with the demand for authentic Iroquoian work without a complete shift to the new glass beaded work which was soon to dominate. It is during this period that a man named Morgan becomes so important. 

Lewis Henry Morgan was very successful at establishing a lasting decorative legacy for Haudenosaunee people when he formed his famous collection and wrote about the objects and much more in "League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee or Iroquois" It would be his collection of Haudenosaunee objects housed ultimately in the New York State Museum which would form the foundation of Iroquois material culture studies. Sadly the museum caught fire in 1911 and much of the collection was destroyed. Some of the material survives for study however they still exhibit the scorch marks from 1911.
Twined cornhusk bottle from the Moragn collection showing scorch marks from the fire in 1911. NYSM

What does survive is an incredible assemblage of important material. Morgan was able to collect not only valuable objects from makers who were some of the last to practice their disciplines but also during a time when knowledge of the pre 1800 period was still fresh. 

Morgan was able to collect the bag below during the 1849-1850 period. Elements of the old fashioned "bandolier" style bags of the 18th century can be seen, however, the shape of the bag and the lack of dyed leather is evidence of the evolution of Haudenosaunee style. 

Lewis Henry Morgan Collection, New York State Museum


The Morgan bag and its contemporary works might be the last era of continuous Haudenosaunee quillwork and moosehair embroidery traditions. It would be another hundred years before an attempt would be made at resurrecting these old artforms.  

The bag below from the Royal Ontario Museum seems to follow a similar style as the Morgan bag with some important differences. The quill decorated decorated and cloth-backed strap are the most obvious differences. The shape of the pouch itself however is very much in line with the Morgan bag. However this bag has a ribbon edging which is seen in almost every other "transitional" bag I have found. 


Iroquoian Shoulder Bag, Dr. Orohyatekha collection, 911.3.125 Royal Ontario Museum

I would have to place this bag into an earlier time period than the mid 19th c Morgan bag. It was collected by Dr. Orohyatekha, aka Peter Martin a Mohawk physician who became interested in collecting Native art in the later 19th century. His collection is primarily housed in teh Royal Ontario Museum. 


Here we see the classic form of 19th century beaded bags which lasts through into the 20th c. However the bag retains the old quillwork decorations much of it in single-quill "line-work".  The floral motifs mirror the later beaded versions as does the silk ribbon trim and two-bead edging. 



I will ad some other example which I have gleaned from auction catalogs and other museums that all seem to fit into a stylistic group of transitional bags. 

Skinner February2017



Bonhams September 2006
Transitional Bag, 19633 NMAI

Transitional Bag, Minneapolis Institute of Art

I want to show a continuous chain of styles which can be used to usher in the classic 19th century beaded purses we see so often. I am including this bag below to illustrate my point.


The last bag we should pay attention to is this amazing piece of transitional work at the National Museum of the American Indian. It is stylistically and aesthetically an exceptional piece probably from the Seneca people. The form and complicated iconography rendered in porcupine quills is a real challenge to fully absorb.



The form is familiar to the earlier colonial era work and yet is a departure from the constraints of the past. A modern button closure seems to be evidence of its transitional nature. The color palette also relates well to this transitional period. The lack of dark background is a common theme for this period of quillwork. The older traditions demand a dark field to work on. One of elements of this bag which is unusual for a shoulder-worn bag is that the obverse is also decorated. Shoulder-worn quilled bags from the pre-1800's do not exhibit this feature. It is more in line with quilled drawstring bags of the earlier colonial period. 




This last bag image was pinched from Ruth Phillips book "Trading Identities" it was collected prior to 1850 by a Cpt. Rensallaer Foote. 





The last piece I want to show doesn't fit into the category of bags we are looking at but I think the style of quillwork and ribbon trim with beaded edging does warrant a peek. It is also part of the NMAI collection and is essentially a quilled wallet - possible for holding trade cards or even paper money. 
I hope to continue to post to this blog down the road. I think these quick posts might be the way to proceed in a more frequent way. Nyaweh! 

To bring this all to an end I hope that the images are explanation enough for this quick idea I have had for a while. A more formal paper is possible but I am currently trying to finish my work on embroidered tumplines so this short blog posting will have to be enough for now.