American Indian Objects in The Alice Collection

As we finish renovation of a third floor room this month we are adjusting to the closure of the Lincoln Library and the four rooms adjacent to the library while paint dries. Because of the closure of these spaces I have placed some collections in other areas of the museum. One of these temporary exhibits is of select items from the American Indian collection. I simply could not allow tour participants to miss this wonderful group of objects while the room is off limits.

Alice T. Miner collected a wide variety of wonderful American Indian objects between 1910 to her death in 1950. Unfortunately, the museum does not know the provenance of most of these objects. We do hold a large number of stone implements donated to Alice for her museum by Lynn, Massachusetts mayor Ralph S. Bauer in the 1920s. It is likely that Alice Miner already possessed the wonderful baskets, pottery pieces, dolls and beaded works by the time she received the Bauer Collection.

This new exhibit offers a sampling of pieces for visitors to learn about and enjoy, including; a group of spear and arrow points, four baskets, a basketry women's cap, a beaded Plains Indian doll, a clay pipe stem, two southwestern pottery pieces, a northwest coast Indian dance rattle (written about previously in this post - The Rattle Connection), a beaded tobacco bag, a small bow with eight arrows, and a Nez Perce woven bag.

The Plains Indian doll is sixteen inches tall and comprised of a leather body, head and clothing with beaded decoration and bead & metal jewelry. The face has some application of red pigment on the cheeks with eyes created from beads. 

The baskets in the exhibit are Klickitat, Hupa and Yurok-Karok in origin, therefore all were made in California, Oregon and Washington states. The Yurok-Karok and Hupa baskets are similar to each other and were likely made by related peoples in California. They are made of woven willow, pine root, bear grass and maiden hair fern - with a weave so tight and fine they are said to hold water. The Yurok-Karok cap is made in a similar way with the addition of a fabric lining. 

Yurok-Karok woman's cap

Hupa cooking basket, ca. 10" tall - food was boiled in the basket using hot stones from the fire

A Klickitat basket - ca. 13" tall

Klickitat Brave, 1899

The Klickitat baskets are large burden baskets woven of red cedar root, cattail leaf, or beaver grass with geometric designs and rawhide straps. The Klickitat, or Qwu'lh-hwai-pum (prairie people), lived along the shores of the Colombia River between the present day states of Washington and Oregon. 

The Nez Perce cornhusk bag is woven from dogbane or silkweed and decorated with colored fibers. Later yarn and corn husk were also incorporated in weaving these utilitarian bags or baskets. The addition of a rawhide strap made for easy carrying. The Nez Perce were also inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. 

The two pottery objects included in this exhibit are from the southwestern U.S. and Northern Mexico. They are both polychrome decorated vessels with geometric designs.

The pitcher was made at Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico using both mineral and vegetal based paints. The design uses a characteristic white background allowing Acoma potters to produce crisp black and polychrome designs. This pitcher is nine inches tall. Acoma Pueblo has been occupied by descendants of the Mogollon and Anasazi people for over 800 years, making it one of the oldest continually inhabited communities in the U.S. I could not resist including this wonderful photos of one of the houses at Acoma today.

A house in the Sky City of Acoma Pueblo

17 November 2012, by Beyond My Ken

The other pottery piece is a wonderful little polychrome pottery bowl made by Indians in the Casas Grandes region of Northern Mexico, in the modern day state of Chihuahua. Casas Grandes, also known as Paquimé was settled by people descended from the Mogollon. It is only about 4.5 inches tall and has holes pierced in the top for hanging or carrying. 

The Rattle Connection

One of my favorite rooms here at The Alice just happens to be one of the smallest exhibit spaces. The American Indian Room on the third floor holds a widely varied collection of objects that include WWI gas masks, Babylonian tablets, small lap desks, shells & fossils, along side a lovely collection of American Indian artifacts including baskets, beadwork and stone implements. Prominently displayed on the west wall among baskets and pottery is a Northwest Coast Tsimshian or Tlinget Chief's rattle. Our records say Tlingit, but it could also have been made by Tsimshian artisans, who are said to have invented the raven rattle.

The twelve inch long polychrome wooden Chief's rattle is made in the form of a flying raven with two carved sections joined by two wooden pegs. The upper section is comprised of flattened and backswept wings, along with an upturned head. In his narrowly parted beak the raven is holding a small object said to represent either the sun or a box holding the light of day - perhaps the dawning of human consciousness? The bird's flattened wings support a reclining human figure with bent arms and legs. The human's mouth is slightly open and his long tongue is protruding into the mouth of a turtle or frog creature, which in turn is held in the beak of another bird (perhaps a kingfisher) that is formed from the raven's raised tail feathers. The bottom section forms the underbelly of the raven, and is carved with a highly stylized avian-like face with a small hooked beak. The face also depicts elements of fish, whale and bird which mirror the richness of life supported by the sea and might also suggest the regional sources of human wealth. The face itself is a hollow cavity that at one time held pebbles, which when shaken caused the rattling sound. Estimated at circa 1850-1875, the rattle is expertly carved, and is colored with touches of rich black and red pigments.

While studying the carving, one might feel the concept of the interconnectedness of nature. Each creature is connected to and somehow depends on the others. The creatures are connected by tongues, or resting on each other, a part of one another's bodies. Chiefs used these rattles in ceremonies, including rites-of-passage celebrations, often holding on in each hand. Imagine the strong message this object sent to the young initiate: your life depends on all creatures... humans do not stand alone. The sounds of the paired rattles enhanced the stories or songs of the Chiefs, and are also said to have evoked the sounds of the fins of salmon breaking the surface of the water.

Here at The Alice the rattle rests quietly, its pebbles long since lost. Over eighty years ago Alice Miner was drawn to the rattle's beauty and artistic quality. A wooden stand was made for it, and it was carefully displayed for visitors to enjoy... But the rattle was also used by someone long ago! One can see that it surely had a life before The Alice - and that it had purpose in that former life. The wood is worn, the paint scratched in places, but this object has been lovingly cared for, surviving the decades. It is waiting to speak to you should you visit and take the time to look... You might be reminded how we are all inter-connected - bird, man, frog, fish!