Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Figure 9 – uploaded by Denise Nicole Green

See full PDFdownloadDownload figure
FIGURE 7 Sahas (pulling cedar bark) from a red cedar, Kalthkachulth (Mount Aerosmith), British Columbia, May 2010. Video still by author.

Figure 7 Sahas (pulling cedar bark) from a red cedar, Kalthkachulth (Mount Aerosmith), British Columbia, May 2010. Video still by author.

Related Figures (43)

DENISE NICOLE GREEN
DENISE NICOLE GREEN
FIGURE 2 Painted shawl, Nootka Sound, March-April, 1778. Red ochre and charcoal painted on beaten cedar bark huulthin with woven mountain goat wool border. Collected by Captain James Cook, donated by Sir Joseph Banks. The British Museum, Am NWC.53. Photo courtesy of the British Museum.
FIGURE 2 Painted shawl, Nootka Sound, March-April, 1778. Red ochre and charcoal painted on beaten cedar bark huulthin with woven mountain goat wool border. Collected by Captain James Cook, donated by Sir Joseph Banks. The British Museum, Am NWC.53. Photo courtesy of the British Museum.
on the West Coast? How do Nuu-chah-nulth people today think about dance shawls, and how are individual and collective identities negotiated through fashion changes in huulthin? FIGURE 3 Locations of Nuu-chah-nulth (Nuuchaanulth) First Nations as indicated by Chuuchkamalthnii, January, 2010. Courtesy of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, The University of British Columbia.
on the West Coast? How do Nuu-chah-nulth people today think about dance shawls, and how are individual and collective identities negotiated through fashion changes in huulthin? FIGURE 3 Locations of Nuu-chah-nulth (Nuuchaanulth) First Nations as indicated by Chuuchkamalthnii, January, 2010. Courtesy of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, The University of British Columbia.
FIGURE 4 Chuuchkamalthnii (Ron Hamilton) paints a cotton huulthin for his Aunty Hilda Hanson while at his sister’s home at Tl’ikuulth, British Columbia, April, 2012. Acrylic paint on cotton. Photo by author, used with permission. LO AUS Ielle pat ucipalit OVoselValiOll research, I visited museums, libraries, and archives in order to unravel written and material histories. I examined examples of uu-chah-nulth huulthin at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC; the Field useum in Chicago, IL; the Smithsonian nstitution’s National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC; the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard in Cambridge, MA; the American Museum of Natural History in Nev York, NY; the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA; the Alberni Valley Museum in Port Alberni, BC; Staatliche Museen zu Berlir and Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin; the British Museum in London, England; and the 81. I Karl May Museum in Radebeul, Germany. created a Filemaker Pro database to organize data collected about each shawl, including my
FIGURE 4 Chuuchkamalthnii (Ron Hamilton) paints a cotton huulthin for his Aunty Hilda Hanson while at his sister’s home at Tl’ikuulth, British Columbia, April, 2012. Acrylic paint on cotton. Photo by author, used with permission. LO AUS Ielle pat ucipalit OVoselValiOll research, I visited museums, libraries, and archives in order to unravel written and material histories. I examined examples of uu-chah-nulth huulthin at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC; the Field useum in Chicago, IL; the Smithsonian nstitution’s National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC; the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard in Cambridge, MA; the American Museum of Natural History in Nev York, NY; the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA; the Alberni Valley Museum in Port Alberni, BC; Staatliche Museen zu Berlir and Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin; the British Museum in London, England; and the 81. I Karl May Museum in Radebeul, Germany. created a Filemaker Pro database to organize data collected about each shawl, including my
two-ply yarn of the same material. The material was not the bark of the pine tree, as Cook and his crewman had guessed; instead, it was the inner bark of red and yellow cedar trees. Inner bark is harvested in late spring through a process that removes only a small section of bark from the tree (Ficure 7). This ensures that the tree heals and continues growing. Contemporary harvesting practices were documented in the ethnographic portion of this research project. FIGURE 5 Woman's shawl, Nootka Sound, March— April, 1778. Wrapped twining with beaten cedar bark and two-ply cedar yarn, with two-ply cedar bark fringe. This huulthin (or one very similar) is worn by the woman depicted in John Webber’s drawing (FIGURE 8). Collected by Captain James Cook and donated by Sir Joseph Banks. The British Museum, Am, NWC.50. Photo courtesy of the British Museum.
two-ply yarn of the same material. The material was not the bark of the pine tree, as Cook and his crewman had guessed; instead, it was the inner bark of red and yellow cedar trees. Inner bark is harvested in late spring through a process that removes only a small section of bark from the tree (Ficure 7). This ensures that the tree heals and continues growing. Contemporary harvesting practices were documented in the ethnographic portion of this research project. FIGURE 5 Woman's shawl, Nootka Sound, March— April, 1778. Wrapped twining with beaten cedar bark and two-ply cedar yarn, with two-ply cedar bark fringe. This huulthin (or one very similar) is worn by the woman depicted in John Webber’s drawing (FIGURE 8). Collected by Captain James Cook and donated by Sir Joseph Banks. The British Museum, Am, NWC.50. Photo courtesy of the British Museum.
FIGURE 6 Conical hat, Nootka Sound, 1794. Cedar bark, spruce root, sea grass, woven to depict a whaling scene. Collected by Captain James Magee during his voyage to the Northwest Coast and Pacific Islands in 1794. A similar hat is worn by the woman in John Webber’s drawing (FIGURE 8). In the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, 164130, acquired from the Peabody Museum Harvard in 1929. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 6 Conical hat, Nootka Sound, 1794. Cedar bark, spruce root, sea grass, woven to depict a whaling scene. Collected by Captain James Magee during his voyage to the Northwest Coast and Pacific Islands in 1794. A similar hat is worn by the woman in John Webber’s drawing (FIGURE 8). In the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, 164130, acquired from the Peabody Museum Harvard in 1929. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 8 John Webber, Portrait of a Woman of Nootka Sound, 1778. Engraving on paper. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, 23959. FIGURE 9 J.G. de St. Sauveur, Fille de Nootka (Daughter of Nootka), 1795. Etching on paper, colored by hand. Woman wears a large, cedar bark mantle over her shoulders. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada/Canadian Historical Prints Collection, €010977235.
FIGURE 8 John Webber, Portrait of a Woman of Nootka Sound, 1778. Engraving on paper. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, 23959. FIGURE 9 J.G. de St. Sauveur, Fille de Nootka (Daughter of Nootka), 1795. Etching on paper, colored by hand. Woman wears a large, cedar bark mantle over her shoulders. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada/Canadian Historical Prints Collection, €010977235.
FIGURE 12 Partially completed shawl of indigenous materials, Esperanza Inlet (Nuchatlaht), 1882. Wrapped twining of cedar bark with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1160ab. Photo by author, used with permission. represent variations in the kind of dress worn at the time, and across different communities, as per the natural history approach. The accompanying catalogue cards detail from which communities the capes originated. He did not, however, collect any information about the people who would have worn these garments or information about occasions for their use. While these collections are rich in material, we are still left to wonder how certain garments might represent intersecting identity positions of class, age/generation, and gender.
FIGURE 12 Partially completed shawl of indigenous materials, Esperanza Inlet (Nuchatlaht), 1882. Wrapped twining of cedar bark with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1160ab. Photo by author, used with permission. represent variations in the kind of dress worn at the time, and across different communities, as per the natural history approach. The accompanying catalogue cards detail from which communities the capes originated. He did not, however, collect any information about the people who would have worn these garments or information about occasions for their use. While these collections are rich in material, we are still left to wonder how certain garments might represent intersecting identity positions of class, age/generation, and gender.
FIGURE 13 Huulthin, Barkley Sound, 1882. Wrapped twining of beaten cedar bark bundles with two-ply cedar bark yarn and one weft of cotton twine with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1138. Photo by author, used with permission. of cotton yarn is supplemented in place of one of the two cedar yarns needed for the wrapped twining, resulting in a checkerboard effect. In other garments of mixed-material manufacture, strips of cotton calicos and woolens are bundled in alongside cedar, adding a stylistic touch (Ficure 15). Early prospector, and later Indian Reserve Commissioner, Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, who arrived in the Alberni Valley in 1860, suggested that women’s dress was more decorative than men’s, with “blankets often tastefully ornamented.”*”? It is likely, therefore, that women wore the more
FIGURE 13 Huulthin, Barkley Sound, 1882. Wrapped twining of beaten cedar bark bundles with two-ply cedar bark yarn and one weft of cotton twine with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1138. Photo by author, used with permission. of cotton yarn is supplemented in place of one of the two cedar yarns needed for the wrapped twining, resulting in a checkerboard effect. In other garments of mixed-material manufacture, strips of cotton calicos and woolens are bundled in alongside cedar, adding a stylistic touch (Ficure 15). Early prospector, and later Indian Reserve Commissioner, Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, who arrived in the Alberni Valley in 1860, suggested that women’s dress was more decorative than men’s, with “blankets often tastefully ornamented.”*”? It is likely, therefore, that women wore the more
FIGURE 14 Detail shot of wrapped twining. Collectec by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1138. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 14 Detail shot of wrapped twining. Collectec by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1138. Photo by author, used with permission.
By the late nineteenth century, blankets were in demand. During the 1860-1862 Vancouver Island land survey, Captain G. H. Richards wrote in his personal journal: “Blankets are most in request and they ask absurdly exorbitant prices for every thing. . .. Almost all have some article of European manufacture as a garment, or more generally, a blanket.”*°° Sproat wrote that, “The men’s dress is a blanket; the women a strip of cloth, or shift, and blanket. The old costume of the natives was the same as at present, but the material was different.’*°° Sproat’s analysis of the similarity between “old costume” and the dress worn by his Native contemporaries is exemplified in Jacobson’s 1882-1883 collection: the most striking examples are three shawls made of unraveled woolen blankets, “bundled” as if cedar bark, and reconfigured into huulthin using wrapped twining technology (Ficures 17 and 18). decoratively designed huulthin Jacobson collected, while men wore the mantles. FIGURE 15 Huulthin embellished with blanket strips, West coast of Vancouver Island, 1882. Wrapped twining with cedar bark, wool and cotton fabric strips with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 115: Photo by author, used with permission. FIGURE 16 Huulthin made entirely of blanket strips, Hesquiaht or Tla-o-qui-aht, 1882. Wrapped twining with wool blanket strips, jute twine and mountain goat wool. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2074e. Photo by author, used with permission.
By the late nineteenth century, blankets were in demand. During the 1860-1862 Vancouver Island land survey, Captain G. H. Richards wrote in his personal journal: “Blankets are most in request and they ask absurdly exorbitant prices for every thing. . .. Almost all have some article of European manufacture as a garment, or more generally, a blanket.”*°° Sproat wrote that, “The men’s dress is a blanket; the women a strip of cloth, or shift, and blanket. The old costume of the natives was the same as at present, but the material was different.’*°° Sproat’s analysis of the similarity between “old costume” and the dress worn by his Native contemporaries is exemplified in Jacobson’s 1882-1883 collection: the most striking examples are three shawls made of unraveled woolen blankets, “bundled” as if cedar bark, and reconfigured into huulthin using wrapped twining technology (Ficures 17 and 18). decoratively designed huulthin Jacobson collected, while men wore the mantles. FIGURE 15 Huulthin embellished with blanket strips, West coast of Vancouver Island, 1882. Wrapped twining with cedar bark, wool and cotton fabric strips with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 115: Photo by author, used with permission. FIGURE 16 Huulthin made entirely of blanket strips, Hesquiaht or Tla-o-qui-aht, 1882. Wrapped twining with wool blanket strips, jute twine and mountain goat wool. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2074e. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 19 Cedar bark huulthin, Hesquiaht or Tla-o- qui-aht, 1882.Wrapped twining of cedar bark and mountain goat wool with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2073e. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 19 Cedar bark huulthin, Hesquiaht or Tla-o- qui-aht, 1882.Wrapped twining of cedar bark and mountain goat wool with fur collar. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2073e. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 18 Huulthin of wool yarns, Hesquiaht or Tla- o-qui-aht, 1882. Wrapped twining with woolen yarns, cotton twine and fur collar. Collected by J.A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2074c. Photo by author, used with permission. It is impossible to know exactly what people were wearing, and it is important to keep in mind that Jacobson was making a collection, not documenting exact proportions of who was wearing what and when. The capes are listed in series numbers, with the collection of trade material shawls comprising one group, and the entirely indigenous materials shawls making up another (though both sets of garments came from Hesquiaht). The garments are, for the most part, in good condition with the exception of moth holes on one of the woolen capes. Some display more evidence of use than others (see Ficure 20), but on the whole the garments appear to have been relatively new at the time of collection.*°’
FIGURE 18 Huulthin of wool yarns, Hesquiaht or Tla- o-qui-aht, 1882. Wrapped twining with woolen yarns, cotton twine and fur collar. Collected by J.A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2074c. Photo by author, used with permission. It is impossible to know exactly what people were wearing, and it is important to keep in mind that Jacobson was making a collection, not documenting exact proportions of who was wearing what and when. The capes are listed in series numbers, with the collection of trade material shawls comprising one group, and the entirely indigenous materials shawls making up another (though both sets of garments came from Hesquiaht). The garments are, for the most part, in good condition with the exception of moth holes on one of the woolen capes. Some display more evidence of use than others (see Ficure 20), but on the whole the garments appear to have been relatively new at the time of collection.*°’
FIGURE 17 Huulthin of wool yarns, Nootka Sound, 1882. Wrapped twining with woolen yarns, cedar bark rope, cotton twine and leather for neckline. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1154. Photo by auth used with permission. FIGURE 20 Detail of a mantle neckline showing wea Hesquiaht or Kyuquot, 1882. Wrapped twining of cedar bark, with cotton yarn border, fur neckline. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1146. Photo by author, used with permission. the bottom hem; rather, the cedar bark has been neatly cut in a crisp line. This new approach to an older decorative detail suggests some continuity in garment shape and manufacturing technology, but dramatic difference in the decorative detailing and material use. The variety in cape decorative styles suggests a period of great creativity and experimentation. The Huupachesat-h shawl (Ficure 10) with fringed fabric pieces is a unique play on colors, fabrics, yarns, and other materials. The fringe is purposely left various lengths—this shawl was likely worn at the same time as something like the shawl in FiGuRE19, a much less vibrant look, using traditional indigenous materials in a more conservative manner.
FIGURE 17 Huulthin of wool yarns, Nootka Sound, 1882. Wrapped twining with woolen yarns, cedar bark rope, cotton twine and leather for neckline. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1154. Photo by auth used with permission. FIGURE 20 Detail of a mantle neckline showing wea Hesquiaht or Kyuquot, 1882. Wrapped twining of cedar bark, with cotton yarn border, fur neckline. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 1146. Photo by author, used with permission. the bottom hem; rather, the cedar bark has been neatly cut in a crisp line. This new approach to an older decorative detail suggests some continuity in garment shape and manufacturing technology, but dramatic difference in the decorative detailing and material use. The variety in cape decorative styles suggests a period of great creativity and experimentation. The Huupachesat-h shawl (Ficure 10) with fringed fabric pieces is a unique play on colors, fabrics, yarns, and other materials. The fringe is purposely left various lengths—this shawl was likely worn at the same time as something like the shawl in FiGuRE19, a much less vibrant look, using traditional indigenous materials in a more conservative manner.
FIGURE 21 Detail of human hair in mantle neckline, Vancouver Island, 1882. Wrapped twining of cedar bark, mountain goat wool with human hair encased by leather at neckline. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2242. Photo by author, used with permission. not trusted. Edward Sapir encountered similar beliefs from his informant, Tom Sayachapis, and wrote that “Many Nootka are accused of gaining power to bewitch their enemies or rivals, whether by the handling of their food, nail parings, and body effluvia.”*** Some of these same bodily residues could be presented to a respected person of high status during a potlatch ceremony as a demonstration of trust, ultimately enhancing the prestige of the recipient. Chuuchkamalthnii spoke with me about the example of sweat:
FIGURE 21 Detail of human hair in mantle neckline, Vancouver Island, 1882. Wrapped twining of cedar bark, mountain goat wool with human hair encased by leather at neckline. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 2242. Photo by author, used with permission. not trusted. Edward Sapir encountered similar beliefs from his informant, Tom Sayachapis, and wrote that “Many Nootka are accused of gaining power to bewitch their enemies or rivals, whether by the handling of their food, nail parings, and body effluvia.”*** Some of these same bodily residues could be presented to a respected person of high status during a potlatch ceremony as a demonstration of trust, ultimately enhancing the prestige of the recipient. Chuuchkamalthnii spoke with me about the example of sweat:
FIGURE 22 Dr. Atleo (Atliiyuu), Painted shawl, Tla-o- qui-aht, 1882. Cotton muslin shawl, most likely painted with trade vermillion, Reckitt’s laundry bluing, charcoal and other pigments. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 7156. Photo by Rainer Hatoum, used with permission.
FIGURE 22 Dr. Atleo (Atliiyuu), Painted shawl, Tla-o- qui-aht, 1882. Cotton muslin shawl, most likely painted with trade vermillion, Reckitt’s laundry bluing, charcoal and other pigments. Collected by J. A. Jacobson for the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum, IV A 7156. Photo by Rainer Hatoum, used with permission.
FIGURE 24 Man wearing huulthin painted by Dr. Atleo (#85897), possibly Jasper Turner, 1904. Courtesy of The Field Museum, CSA13585. Photograph by Charles Carpenter. Jacobson collected one ceremonial painted shawl from the Tla-o-qui-aht, likely painted by Dr. Atleo (Ficure 22).’*° Many years later in 1904, Dr. Atleo traveled with a group of Nuu- chah-nulth to the St. Louis Exposition, where they were put on display. Dr. Atleo painted another shawl for this event, which is now part of the collection of the Field Museum in Chicago (Ficures 23 and 24).**” The 1904 photograph of Dr. Atleo’s shawl shows that it was worn with a hinkiitsim (serpent
FIGURE 24 Man wearing huulthin painted by Dr. Atleo (#85897), possibly Jasper Turner, 1904. Courtesy of The Field Museum, CSA13585. Photograph by Charles Carpenter. Jacobson collected one ceremonial painted shawl from the Tla-o-qui-aht, likely painted by Dr. Atleo (Ficure 22).’*° Many years later in 1904, Dr. Atleo traveled with a group of Nuu- chah-nulth to the St. Louis Exposition, where they were put on display. Dr. Atleo painted another shawl for this event, which is now part of the collection of the Field Museum in Chicago (Ficures 23 and 24).**” The 1904 photograph of Dr. Atleo’s shawl shows that it was worn with a hinkiitsim (serpent
headdress). These kinds of headdresses are used in potlatches during the performance of haatshuulthayak (chiefly ceremonial potlatch songs). These are the most important chiefly songs and dances, often displayed toward the end of the potlatch ceremony.
headdress). These kinds of headdresses are used in potlatches during the performance of haatshuulthayak (chiefly ceremonial potlatch songs). These are the most important chiefly songs and dances, often displayed toward the end of the potlatch ceremony.
FIGURE 25 Painted hide, Controller Bay, Alaska, ca. 1885 (possibly much earlier). Red ochre and charcoa on elk hide. Karl-May-Museum Radebeul near Dresden, 084. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 25 Painted hide, Controller Bay, Alaska, ca. 1885 (possibly much earlier). Red ochre and charcoa on elk hide. Karl-May-Museum Radebeul near Dresden, 084. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 26 Painted huulthin, Barkley Sound, British Columbia, ca. 1889. Red ochre and Reckitt’s Laundry Bluing on cotton muslin. Collected by Dr. Franz Boas. American Museum of Natural History, 16/787. other Aboriginal peoples and white traders left Alaskan waters with Nuu-chah-nulth ceremonial and secular artifacts.
FIGURE 26 Painted huulthin, Barkley Sound, British Columbia, ca. 1889. Red ochre and Reckitt’s Laundry Bluing on cotton muslin. Collected by Dr. Franz Boas. American Museum of Natural History, 16/787. other Aboriginal peoples and white traders left Alaskan waters with Nuu-chah-nulth ceremonial and secular artifacts.
valued that it was often spun with cedar bark and woven into borders, which made a little mountain goat wool go a long way. This shawl is the antithesis: the mountain goat wool is thick and sewn to the top of the hem.
valued that it was often spun with cedar bark and woven into borders, which made a little mountain goat wool go a long way. This shawl is the antithesis: the mountain goat wool is thick and sewn to the top of the hem.
FIGURE 29 Painted huulthin, Hesquiaht, 1916. Wrapped twining of cedar bark with painted design. Museum purchase. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 050107.
FIGURE 29 Painted huulthin, Hesquiaht, 1916. Wrapped twining of cedar bark with painted design. Museum purchase. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 050107.
FIGURE 28 Painted huulthin, Nootka Sound, 1923. Wrapped twining of cedar bark with painted design. Collected by Lieutenant G. T. Emmons. Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, 133962.
FIGURE 28 Painted huulthin, Nootka Sound, 1923. Wrapped twining of cedar bark with painted design. Collected by Lieutenant G. T. Emmons. Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, 133962.
FIGURE 31 Charles Swan in painted dance shawl, Neah Bay, Washington, 1923. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin no. 124 (1939), plate 4. Photo by Frances Densmore.
FIGURE 31 Charles Swan in painted dance shawl, Neah Bay, Washington, 1923. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin no. 124 (1939), plate 4. Photo by Frances Densmore.
FIGURE 32 Nuu-chah-nulth dancers in black shawls, Port Alberni, British Columbia, ca. 1940-1955. According to the Alberni Valley archival records, the women are identified from left to right: Sarah Bill, Lucy Bill, Annie Watts, Celia Williams, Pearl Brown, Kitty Jackson, Mabel Yokum, Mabel Taylor, Jessie Gallic and Mrs. Shewish. Informant, Wiihswis-sunup identified this group of women as participants in George Clutesi’s dance group. Photo courtesy of The Alberni Valley Museum, PNo7333. potlatch ban, until 1952, I interviewed older members of Nuu-chah-nulth communities and asked them about their memories of what people wore when they were young children. Older women, recalling their own and others’ Aaytst’uulthaa ceremonies, remembered shawls as being very plain, most often black ora plaid tartan. Chuuchkamalthnii recalled, “Tf | remember right the shawls were dark, they might have been black. What I remember is they had no designs whatever, and most of those ladies were wearing shawls that were plaid or black. Plain.”**° This is not to suggest that there was a democratization of shawls and shawl styles: those from chiefly families continued to display status, though perhaps by increasingly subtle means. In August of 2010, I interviewed the daughter of a chiefly family of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation. In the late 1940s, she remembered:
FIGURE 32 Nuu-chah-nulth dancers in black shawls, Port Alberni, British Columbia, ca. 1940-1955. According to the Alberni Valley archival records, the women are identified from left to right: Sarah Bill, Lucy Bill, Annie Watts, Celia Williams, Pearl Brown, Kitty Jackson, Mabel Yokum, Mabel Taylor, Jessie Gallic and Mrs. Shewish. Informant, Wiihswis-sunup identified this group of women as participants in George Clutesi’s dance group. Photo courtesy of The Alberni Valley Museum, PNo7333. potlatch ban, until 1952, I interviewed older members of Nuu-chah-nulth communities and asked them about their memories of what people wore when they were young children. Older women, recalling their own and others’ Aaytst’uulthaa ceremonies, remembered shawls as being very plain, most often black ora plaid tartan. Chuuchkamalthnii recalled, “Tf | remember right the shawls were dark, they might have been black. What I remember is they had no designs whatever, and most of those ladies were wearing shawls that were plaid or black. Plain.”**° This is not to suggest that there was a democratization of shawls and shawl styles: those from chiefly families continued to display status, though perhaps by increasingly subtle means. In August of 2010, I interviewed the daughter of a chiefly family of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation. In the late 1940s, she remembered:
FIGURE 34 Huupach’esat-h women practice with their dance shawls the evening before a performance, Port Alberni, British Columbia, March, 2012. Techniques include screen printing, appliqué, button embellishments, sequining, spray paint (over stencil), and all shawls have fringe. Film still from video by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 34 Huupach’esat-h women practice with their dance shawls the evening before a performance, Port Alberni, British Columbia, March, 2012. Techniques include screen printing, appliqué, button embellishments, sequining, spray paint (over stencil), and all shawls have fringe. Film still from video by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 33 Detail of tiitskin (thunderbird) motif, in center of polyester dance shawl, Port Alberni, British Columbia, ca. 1970s. Polyester fabric with sequins, glass seed beads, fringe and paint. Donated by Ron Hamilton. Cornell Costume and Textile Collection, 2010.40.09. Photo by Helen McLallen, used with permission. organized: “Now we just didn’t form this group and then die out like so many other groups are apt to do. We kept on struggling along and we'd practice occasionally. We'd practice quite often.”**° Clutesi’s group received the most publicity in 1951, during the Canadian tour of Princess Elizabeth. At a meeting in Duncan, British Columbia, in anticipation of the princess’s visit, the Indian Agent in Port Alberni at the time offered the services of George Clutesi and his dance group (see Ficure 32). The group performed for the princess, and Clutesi explained:
FIGURE 33 Detail of tiitskin (thunderbird) motif, in center of polyester dance shawl, Port Alberni, British Columbia, ca. 1970s. Polyester fabric with sequins, glass seed beads, fringe and paint. Donated by Ron Hamilton. Cornell Costume and Textile Collection, 2010.40.09. Photo by Helen McLallen, used with permission. organized: “Now we just didn’t form this group and then die out like so many other groups are apt to do. We kept on struggling along and we'd practice occasionally. We'd practice quite often.”**° Clutesi’s group received the most publicity in 1951, during the Canadian tour of Princess Elizabeth. At a meeting in Duncan, British Columbia, in anticipation of the princess’s visit, the Indian Agent in Port Alberni at the time offered the services of George Clutesi and his dance group (see Ficure 32). The group performed for the princess, and Clutesi explained:
FIGURE 36 Huupach’esat-h Hakuum (Queen) and highly respected shawl-maker, Colleen Watts, at her home, Ahahswinis, British Columbia, October, 2011. Photo by author, used with permission. more than one), and a weekly sewing group at Ahahswinis, the most populated Huupach’esat-h village site. | photo- documented seamstresses with their shawls to capture the diversity of contemporary shawl production (Ficures 35 and 36).
FIGURE 36 Huupach’esat-h Hakuum (Queen) and highly respected shawl-maker, Colleen Watts, at her home, Ahahswinis, British Columbia, October, 2011. Photo by author, used with permission. more than one), and a weekly sewing group at Ahahswinis, the most populated Huupach’esat-h village site. | photo- documented seamstresses with their shawls to capture the diversity of contemporary shawl production (Ficures 35 and 36).
Others feel that sequins, beads, and embellishments make the shawl “gaudy.” Another seamstress told me that when the design has strength and the wearer has knowledge of its connection to family, history, and rights, it does not require anything else to bring it to life: “When the designs are nice, they stand out!”
Others feel that sequins, beads, and embellishments make the shawl “gaudy.” Another seamstress told me that when the design has strength and the wearer has knowledge of its connection to family, history, and rights, it does not require anything else to bring it to life: “When the designs are nice, they stand out!”
FIGURE 37 Naasquuisags (Shaunee Casavant) sews glass seed beads onto her sister’s huulthin at her home in Port Alberni, British Columbia, June, 2011. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 37 Naasquuisags (Shaunee Casavant) sews glass seed beads onto her sister’s huulthin at her home in Port Alberni, British Columbia, June, 2011. Photo by author, used with permission.
Huupach’esat-h also has royal blood that comes from Hikuulth, through Punii-ii. This bloodline is in addition to the Tayii’s paternal bloodline, which comes from Ts’uuma-asat-h, the first-ranked tribe of the Huupach’esat-h. The image of three seals on Miranda’s shawl emphasizes a deeper history of wealth—when Huupach’esat-h men were successful sealers. It also references a story of her great- grandfather, who held the name, Ch’aamat, which means, “Chiefly.” Miranda’s grandfather, Pat Lauder, often told the story of his father, Ch’aamat, keeping a pet seal as a young boy. The seals were designed by her grandfather's first cousin, Chuuchkamalthnii, who is nephew to the late, Ch’aamat. He did the design both out of respect for his uncle, but also out of respect for the dedication of his young relative, Miranda. q é 4 154 FIGURE 38 Young Huupach’esat-h woman, Miranda Lauder, receives her first huulthin at the Hupacasath House of Gathering at Ahahswinis, British Columbia, October, 2011. Photo by author, used with permission.
Huupach’esat-h also has royal blood that comes from Hikuulth, through Punii-ii. This bloodline is in addition to the Tayii’s paternal bloodline, which comes from Ts’uuma-asat-h, the first-ranked tribe of the Huupach’esat-h. The image of three seals on Miranda’s shawl emphasizes a deeper history of wealth—when Huupach’esat-h men were successful sealers. It also references a story of her great- grandfather, who held the name, Ch’aamat, which means, “Chiefly.” Miranda’s grandfather, Pat Lauder, often told the story of his father, Ch’aamat, keeping a pet seal as a young boy. The seals were designed by her grandfather's first cousin, Chuuchkamalthnii, who is nephew to the late, Ch’aamat. He did the design both out of respect for his uncle, but also out of respect for the dedication of his young relative, Miranda. q é 4 154 FIGURE 38 Young Huupach’esat-h woman, Miranda Lauder, receives her first huulthin at the Hupacasath House of Gathering at Ahahswinis, British Columbia, October, 2011. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 40 Naasquuisags dances at a potlatch while wearing her shawl, Port Alberni, British Columbia, ca. 1995. Photo courtesy of Naasquuisags (Shaunee Casavant), used with permission. imagery represents one of her Nuu-chah- nulth names, Chakwaasikwilthim (Dorsel Fin Woman). While that name comes from her family’s history, it also makes an individual reference to her—Chakwaasikwilthim/ aasquuisaqs/Shaunee Casavant—the Kuu-as (real, living human being). She explained: “I’ve used that shawl in so many other dos potlatches] and that adds to it. So every time use it, then that’s more me. It’s more me all the time. So that is my identity. . I like the fact that I’m the only one that wears that shawl.”***
FIGURE 40 Naasquuisags dances at a potlatch while wearing her shawl, Port Alberni, British Columbia, ca. 1995. Photo courtesy of Naasquuisags (Shaunee Casavant), used with permission. imagery represents one of her Nuu-chah- nulth names, Chakwaasikwilthim (Dorsel Fin Woman). While that name comes from her family’s history, it also makes an individual reference to her—Chakwaasikwilthim/ aasquuisaqs/Shaunee Casavant—the Kuu-as (real, living human being). She explained: “I’ve used that shawl in so many other dos potlatches] and that adds to it. So every time use it, then that’s more me. It’s more me all the time. So that is my identity. . I like the fact that I’m the only one that wears that shawl.”***
of thing. Prior to contact we used things like dentalia shells and other things of value to us that represented something to trade with. So, that’s what you’re doing, you’re adding to the prestige of something or someone or an occasion when you show your wealth. And I think that the money, depending on whether it’s a five-dollar- bill or a one hundred-dollar-bill, it’s a display of wealth and resource to show that something important is going on. And, somebody of importance who has that wealth and wants to do something bad enough that they’ve gathered their wealth and they’re doing that business. I think it adds to the prestige and the seriousness of some event or some person.”
of thing. Prior to contact we used things like dentalia shells and other things of value to us that represented something to trade with. So, that’s what you’re doing, you’re adding to the prestige of something or someone or an occasion when you show your wealth. And I think that the money, depending on whether it’s a five-dollar- bill or a one hundred-dollar-bill, it’s a display of wealth and resource to show that something important is going on. And, somebody of importance who has that wealth and wants to do something bad enough that they’ve gathered their wealth and they’re doing that business. I think it adds to the prestige and the seriousness of some event or some person.”
said, “You should show that, Ronny!” It [the tuupatii/the collection of white shawls] was daybreak, what it represents. So it’s the line of light that you first see in the morning, the white across the horizon. And so we made lots and we filled the floor at my do with those shawls. It was awesome to see that. My aunty leading the pack. That was something.*** FIGURE 41 Dancers wear matching white huulthin at a potlatch to mark the coming of age of two Huupach’esat-h boys, Saantuu and Kwiispiisiis, Port Alberni, British Columbia, November, 1983. Photo courtesy of Chuuchkamalthnii.
said, “You should show that, Ronny!” It [the tuupatii/the collection of white shawls] was daybreak, what it represents. So it’s the line of light that you first see in the morning, the white across the horizon. And so we made lots and we filled the floor at my do with those shawls. It was awesome to see that. My aunty leading the pack. That was something.*** FIGURE 41 Dancers wear matching white huulthin at a potlatch to mark the coming of age of two Huupach’esat-h boys, Saantuu and Kwiispiisiis, Port Alberni, British Columbia, November, 1983. Photo courtesy of Chuuchkamalthnii.
FIGURE 42 Women from Sayach’apis’s family dance in matching shawls depicting a grizzly bear crest at a Yaxmalthit potlatch held at Maht Mahts Gymnasium in Port Alberni, British Columbia, February, 2010. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 42 Women from Sayach’apis’s family dance in matching shawls depicting a grizzly bear crest at a Yaxmalthit potlatch held at Maht Mahts Gymnasium in Port Alberni, British Columbia, February, 2010. Photo by author, used with permission.
FIGURE 43 Hilda Hanson of Kyuquot wears the shaw! that her nephew, Chuuchkamalthnii, painted for her (FIGURE 4), Campbell River, British Columbia, April, 2012. Photo by Chuuchkamalthnii, used with permission.
FIGURE 43 Hilda Hanson of Kyuquot wears the shaw! that her nephew, Chuuchkamalthnii, painted for her (FIGURE 4), Campbell River, British Columbia, April, 2012. Photo by Chuuchkamalthnii, used with permission.
Related topics:
Anthropology of DressDress and the BodyCeremonial DressFirst Nations of CanadaNuu-chah-nulth Archaeology
580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
© 2025 Academia. All rights reserved