I loved this post and all the images included worked so well with it! That bear claw is something! That had to have been from at least 3, maybe 4, bear. That's incredible! I love how your posts give the images and artifacts a voice. They are their own characters in some ways, asking us to look, read, listen, then listen some more. Thank you for another great read!
The knowledge that these artifacts, these oral histories - and your talent of scribing them are all we have all the great nations is so tremendously heart breaking. To think the white man called these people savages.
Amazing necklace and stories. I can't imagine waking up to the carnage and surviving. I'm also moved by Don Kakageesick's painting of the history and the pipe. Such a powerful story of survival in an inhospitable world.
Isn't Don's painting remarkable? Many of his paintings contain stories, and are so rich with symbolism. The peace-making resolution in this history of a war in which warriors on both sides defended their homeland and family is one we might all learn from today in conflicts over land.
Indeed. Sacred objects. And so is the oral history woven into the handling of these items. Henry Boucha's autobiography also provides a written account of the Chief's encounter with the Dakota in this battle. The objects don't lie. They contain historical truths that written words cannot adequately convey despite our attempts to capture them with a colonialist language.
Do you expect that these pieces like the necklace and the pipes will continue to be passed along to family members or will they be at some point in the future placed in a museum?
Excellent question! Don Kakaygeesick is a ceremonial pipe carrier and he has a son who has accompanied Don to Treaty 3 ceremonies this past year. The pipes will remain with family members and likely the bear claw necklace as well. Many of the objects like this in museum collections today came from white collectors who either traded, took, or bought items for their personal possession. The collections at most museums are so large only a tiny percentage of items are on display. And storage in a museum implies these objects are a thing of the past. The pipe, their word written in stone, is alive.
I loved this post and all the images included worked so well with it! That bear claw is something! That had to have been from at least 3, maybe 4, bear. That's incredible! I love how your posts give the images and artifacts a voice. They are their own characters in some ways, asking us to look, read, listen, then listen some more. Thank you for another great read!
Oooh...so glad to read that you felt this sensibility that these objects have something to tell us.
I’ve never seen an artifact quite like this bear claw necklace. Wow.
The knowledge that these artifacts, these oral histories - and your talent of scribing them are all we have all the great nations is so tremendously heart breaking. To think the white man called these people savages.
Amazing necklace and stories. I can't imagine waking up to the carnage and surviving. I'm also moved by Don Kakageesick's painting of the history and the pipe. Such a powerful story of survival in an inhospitable world.
Isn't Don's painting remarkable? Many of his paintings contain stories, and are so rich with symbolism. The peace-making resolution in this history of a war in which warriors on both sides defended their homeland and family is one we might all learn from today in conflicts over land.
These are amazing artifacts and heirlooms.
Indeed. Sacred objects. And so is the oral history woven into the handling of these items. Henry Boucha's autobiography also provides a written account of the Chief's encounter with the Dakota in this battle. The objects don't lie. They contain historical truths that written words cannot adequately convey despite our attempts to capture them with a colonialist language.
Do you expect that these pieces like the necklace and the pipes will continue to be passed along to family members or will they be at some point in the future placed in a museum?
Excellent question! Don Kakaygeesick is a ceremonial pipe carrier and he has a son who has accompanied Don to Treaty 3 ceremonies this past year. The pipes will remain with family members and likely the bear claw necklace as well. Many of the objects like this in museum collections today came from white collectors who either traded, took, or bought items for their personal possession. The collections at most museums are so large only a tiny percentage of items are on display. And storage in a museum implies these objects are a thing of the past. The pipe, their word written in stone, is alive.