3- Arrowed sash: the use of north american material by First Notions

 Hello,

It is with some trepidation that I approach this article regarding the arrow sash and Indigenous peoples. I am a non-Indigenous person and I fear I might be engaging in "whitesplaining" by focusing on the interpretation of Indigenous textile culture. I sincerely hope that my intention to highlight the influence of Indigenous peoples will be demonstrated and sufficient in itself.

Once again, since this involves citing historical sources about the First Nations peoples of North America, I wish to reiterate this warning. These texts use terms that, today, are either inaccurate, such as "Indian," or pejorative, such as "Savage." I simply want to inform the reader of their presence, which is unalterable in order to preserve the historical accuracy of the original texts. However, the use of these terms in describing historical sources does not constitute an endorsement of the values ​​they may convey.

I find it interesting to begin this article with the visual representation that Louis XIV had of New France growing up.

Carte de la Nouvelle-France
taken from a geography game created for the education of King Louis XIV
Source: Les musées de la ville de Paris

This is a fantasized vision of the distant, legend-filled lands of the Americas. What do we have to determine the fashion of Indigenous peoples before and during the period of New France? Writings from European colonizers with their Judeo-Christian worldview, illustrations by these same colonizers, and the all-too-rare artifacts that have survived... It is with an awareness of these biases that we must begin research on First Nations, and more specifically on their clothing practices.

In Monique Genest-Leblanc's book, « une jolie cinture à flesche»,(A Pretty Arrow Sash), the chapter on Indigenous clothing styles left me perplexed, as it concluded that Indigenous peoples did not contribute to the development of the arrow sash. On one hand, Ms. Genest-Leblanc systematically excluded mentions of wampum belts and sashes embroidered with porcupine hair from her analysis, seeking exclusively evidence of wool spinning, wool use, and weaving/braiding in Indigenous records. I believe, on the contrary, that it is necessary to include them within a broader perspective, especially since Kevin Gélinas has shown that a third of the Canadian sashes mentioned in the archives are wool sashes (a European attribute) adorned with porcupine hair (an Indigenous attribute). Furthermore, the few detailed mentions of sashes adorned with porcupine hair associate this indigenous decoration with a wool base.

On the other hand, Ms. Genest-Leblanc points out that the first portrait showing a clearly identifiable arrow-making technique comes from the Mohawk hero Thayendanega, also called by Europeans Joseph Brant, around 1807, almost a decade after the written mentions of «cinture à flesches» of 1798 but fifty years after the mention found by Kévin Gélinas of « ceinture par flèche» of 1757. It shows a thin belt, about an inch wide, with central red arrows, bordered in white and blue.

Artiste: William Berczy
Detail of the portrait of Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant)
Circa 1807
Source: Musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada

What puzzles me most is the lack of a clear connection between French Canadians and the Mohawk. Joseph Brant was an early British ally. At fifteen years old, during the Seven Years' War, also known as the French and Indian War, he participated in James Ambercromby's attempted invasion of Canada in 1758 at Lake Champlain and took part in the capture of Fort Niagara in 1759. He went to Montreal in 1760 to besiege it under the command of General Amerst. Having distinguished himself for his intelligence, he was sponsored to be educated by Reverend Eleazar Wheelock in Lebanon, in present-day Connecticut. His education was cut short by Pontiac's War in 1763, as his family disapproved of his associating with English people. He nevertheless remained a loyal British ally. He returned to Montreal in 1775 before departing that autumn for England to act as a representative of the Six Nations, alongside other Indigenous allies. During this same voyage, Colonel Guy Johnson commemorated his appointment as superintendent of the Iroquois Confederacy alongside Mohawk Chief Karonghyontye.

Colonel Guy Johnson and Karonghyontye ( Captain David Hill)
artist: Benjamin West
1776
Source:National Gallery of Art

Details of the neck belts of the chief Mohawk Karonghyontye ( Captain David Hill)
artist: Benjamin West
 1776
Source:National Gallery of Art

Joseph Brant actively participated in the American Revolutionary War alongside the British between 1776 and 1785, convinced that the protection of Iroquois territories required an alliance with the British. He was bitterly disappointed by his 1785 journey, undertaken to solidify the British alliance with the Iroquois. The British Crown advised them to remain calm and moderate, in addition to adopting a peaceful approach, to assert their ancestral rights with the newly formed United States government. In other words, no military support in the event of an anticipated armed conflict... It seems strange to me that the first clear representation of an arrow motif is initially on a strap and not a sash, and then depicts a Mohawk allied with the British, unrelated to the trading posts established by the French and Canadians during the reign of New France.

All this, combined with the fact that a third of the Canadian sashes found between 1723 and 1764 by Kévin Gélinas featured rassades, beadwork decorations prized by Indigenous peoples but relatively uncommon among Europeans of the same period. Some of these belts are described as "savage belts," others are made of buffalo hair, and still others are made of wool adorned with porcupine quills.

As for evidence of textile knowledge among Indigenous peoples, the Recollect friar Louis Hennepin mentions it in his «Curieux voyage» (Curious Voyage,) published in 1704, in Chapter XXX, which discusses hunting bulls and wild cattle (buffalo) in the Great Lakes region and the benefits derived from them. Louis Hennepin crossed the Atlantic in 1676.

Les femmes «sauvages» filent au fuseau la laine de ces boeufs (buffalo)
The "savage" women spin the wool of these oxen (buffalo) using spindles.
Louis Hennepin
Édité chez Pierre Vander à Leide en 1704
page 190
Source: BANQ numérique

A little later, Father Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix described the work of Indigenous women on pages 333-334 of «Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle France : avec le Journal historique d'un voyage fait par ordre du Roi dans l'Amérique Septentrionale, Tome III»  in the 23rd letter entitled "Continue to the Character of the Savages and Their Way of Life," dated August 8, 1721, written on the banks of the St. Francis River, as follows:

«Les petits ouvrages des Femmes , & ce qui les occupe ordinairement dans les Cabannes, sont de faire du Fil des pellicules intérieures de l’écorce d’un Arbre, qu’on appelle le Bois Blanc y & elles le travaillent à peu près, comme on fait parmi nous celui de Chanvre. Ce font encore les Femmes, qui font les teintures : elles travaillent aussi à plusieurs ouvrages d’écorce , où elles font de petites figures avec du poil de PorcEpi ; elles font de petites Tasses, ou autres Ustencilles de bois, elles peignent & brodent des Peaux de Chevreuils, elles tricotent des ceintures & des jarretières avec de la Laine de Bœuf.»

"The small works of the Women, and what usually occupies them in the Cabins, are to make thread from the inner layers of the bark of a tree called White Wood, and they work it much like we do with hemp. The Women also make dyes; they also work on various bark projects, where they make small figures with porcupine hair; They make small cups, or other wooden utensils, they paint and embroider deer hides, they knit sashes and garters with ox wool.”

It mentions spinning similar to hemp (a material from which both strong cloth and rough ropes are made), dyeing, embroidering with porcupine hair, and even knitting with buffalo wool! Although it is not impossible that the sashes and garters were knitted, it seems more likely to me that the author used this word to refer to a manual action of braiding/weaving with the fingers, possibly revealing a certain lack of knowledge of so-called women's textile work.

I have found bison wool garters and a bison wool sash dating from the 18th century in the collections of the Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac! The wool is indeed black, which corroborates the dominant color of Kevin Gélinas's book"Frontier soldiers of New France Volume 2" sash inventory: black. This predominance of black would therefore be due to the natural color of buffalo hair, making it the most affordable color for wool in North America. This is an indication, not a confirmation, of the hypothesis that Canadians sought to imitate Indigenous peoples in their choice of sashes for the dominant colour of black, in addition to the use of rassades.

Bison wool garters adorned with tassels and fringed with porcupine quills
Great Lakes Area
Wyandot
18th century
Source: Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

Details of the wool garters adorned with tassels and fringed with porcupine quills
Great Lakes Area
Wyandot
18th century
Source: Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

I think I can see a diagonal arrangement typical of finger braiding/weaving, especially looking at the brown edges of the garter. The threads aren't visible along their entire length as in a classic braid. Since a brown thread is visible around most of the glass beads, it seems the beads were sewn on afterward and not incorporated during the finger braiding/weaving process. This garter appears to be made using the finger braiding/weaving technique but isn't «fléché» (arrowed weaving/braiding).

Bison wool scarf or sash
Great Lakes Area
Wyandot
18th century
Source: Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

Detail of theBison wool scarf or sash
Great Lakes Area
Wyandot
18th century
Source: Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

The weave of the threads in this belt is much looser than in the garters! And the threads also seem much finer. While I can't be certain, it seems to me that the technique here resembles a simple braid rather than finger braiding/weaving. With such a loose weave, I can understand why Father Charlevoix spoke of knitting garters and sashes from bison wool. Looking at the finished product, it's easy to imagine that this sash was loosely knitted rather than loosely braided.

A sash, most likely made of buffalo wool, adorned with fringes enclosed in porcupine quills and ending in tin cones and dyed ruminant hair.
Undated
Source: British Museum

Not only do sources attest to the ability of Indigenous women in the Great Lakes region to spin buffalo wool, but precious artifacts attesting to this practice have survived to this day! What makes me think is this: it's not that Indigenous peoples in North America were unfamiliar with textile practices including spinning and braiding and finger weaving, as these sources demonstrate; they were only familiar with them on a small scale. The Europeans' contribution was primarily to make available a wide variety and an even greater quantity of textiles, including the precious wool yarns for finger weaving.

The 28th letter from the same work of Father Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix, written to the Kaskasquias (near Fort Chartres in present-day Illinois) on October 20, 1721:

«Les Illinois de leur côté travaillent à la terre à leur manière , & sont fort laborieux. Ils nourrissent aussi des Volailles , qu’ils vendent aux François. Leurs Femmes sont assez adroites ; elles filent la laine des Bœufs, & la rendent aussi fine que celle des Moutons d’Angleterre , quelquefois même on la prendroit pour de la Soye. Elles en fabriquent des Etoffes, qu’elles teignent en noir, en jaune,& en rouge foncée. Elles s’en font des Robes , qu’elles cousent avec du fil de nerfs de Chevreuils. La maniéré , dont elles font ce fil est très-simple. Quand le nerf de Chevreuil eft bien décharné , elles le mettent au Soleil pendant deux jours ; quand il est sec , elles le battent, & elles en tirent fans peine un fil aussi blanc & aussi fin que celui de Malines , & beaucoup plus fort.»

"The Illinois, for their part, work the land in their own way and are very hardworking. They also raise poultry, which they sell to the French. Their women are quite skilled; they spin the wool from the oxen and make it as fine as that of English sheep, sometimes even mistaken for silk. They make fabrics from it, which they dye black, yellow, and dark red." They make dresses from it, which they sew with deer sinew thread. The method by which they make this thread is very simple. When the deer sinew is well stripped of its flesh, they leave it in the sun for two days; when it is dry, they beat it, and from it they effortlessly draw a thread as white and as fine as that of Malines, and much stronger."

Not only do Illinois women not produce buffalo wool thread, they transform it into fabric which they dye. The threads produced are sometimes so fine that they could even be mistaken for silk! Do we still speak of garters and sashes when we speak of «étoffes» (fabric) or of weaving on a loom? Could one assemble strips of finger braiding/weaving to make dresses? More unanswered questions...

The Recollect friar Gabriel Sagard wrote his observations in the land of the Huron as early as 1632. Some of them relate to aesthetics and clothing and deserve to be highlighted.

Extract about the feminine clothing description
Sagard, Gabriel, Le grand voyage du pays des Hurons [...], A Paris, chez Denys Moreau., 1632, 1 ressource en ligne (380, 12, [146] p.),
page
Collections de BAnQ.
Source: BaNQ numérique

"... some of them also have sashes and other ornaments, made of porcupine hair, dyed crimson red, and very neatly woven, then feathers and paints are not lacking, and are for the devotion of each."

Are we to understand that the sashes are woven, or that the porcupine quills are woven over them? The sentence structure doesn't allow me to choose between these two interpretations. For now, let's interpret this sentence as indicating that the quills are interwoven, giving the impression of being neatly woven together and placed on a backing, possibly leather.

Extract about huron women's work
Sagard, Gabriel, Le grand voyage du pays des Hurons [...], A Paris, chez Denys Moreau., 1632, 
 ressource en ligne (380, 12, [146] p.),
page 132
 Collections de BAnQ.
Source: BaNQ numérique

...they also make a kind of leather satchel or pouch, on which they create admirable works with porcupine hair dyed red, black, white, and blue, resulting in colors so vivid that ours seem nowhere near as striking. They also practice making bark bowls for drinking and eating, and for holding their meat and other items. Furthermore, they make scarves, carquins, and bracelets that they and the men wear; these are all their own work. And despite having far more to do than the men...

Gabriel Sagard mentions the making of scarves, a term sometimes used to refer to ashes but which could also designate a shoulder strap, as in the portrait of Joseph Brant in his description of women's work. The colors—red, black, white, and blue—of the porcupine quills seem so vibrant to the Recollect friar that European textiles cannot compare, according to him. The porcupine quills are described here as a decoration on a «sac à pétun» (tobacco pouch) 

Tobacco pouch
Haudenosaunee of St. Lawrence Valley
Leather ans porcupine quills 
18th century
Source: Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

A major unknown to me before starting this article was the porcupine decorations. I had envisioned dense embroidery completely covering the fabric or hide beneath, but the artifacts I found don't entirely align with this initial assumption. Exploring this technique seems necessary to see if there are parallels to be drawn between the colorful porcupine belts and the colored wool belts braided/woven by hand.

Kevin Gélinas shared with me this manuscript,  traitant des animaux à quatre pieds terrestres et amphibies qui se trouvent dans les Indes occidentales de l'Amérique Septentrionale (which deals with four legged terrestrial and amphibious animals found in the West Indies of North America) by a man named Louis Nicolas. Gallica indicates that this treatise was written in the 18th century; however, the Cap-aux-Diamants journal recently dedicated a complete edition to Louis Nicolas  and his Codex Canadiensis, acquired by the Gilcrease Museum, informs us that Louis Nicolas died around 1682. His voyage to New France began in 1664 and ended in 1675. During this period, he visited New France from east, to Sept-Îles on the North Shore, to west, to Chagouamignon on Lake Superior, and even claimed to have visited Virginia in the south!

Therefore, I have undertaken to transcribe the entire chapter on porcupines, beginning on page 16.

Chap. Porc-épic

Le porc épic est un animal à ongles griffés. Il monte sur les arbres pour en ronger les écorces et les pèlent entièrement ceux qu’il aime et les fait par conséquent mourir. Il est laid comme certains diables qu’on peint dans les tableaux ou l’on nous représente l’enfer. Ils y en a des gros de petits & de médiocres. Il a la tête grosse et ronde, les yeux porcelains, le nez gros et cameux, l’oreille rase tout de poils long et hispide sous lequel il cache un autre certain gros poil blanc et noir, et je ne le saurais mieux comparer qu’aux piquerons d’un hérisson. Il a tout le corps mal fait, les jambes courtes et les pieds garnis de grosses griffes bien arquées, la queue est grosse assez longue et au bout semble avoir été coupée.

Il habite dans les trous de roches. Les [idenap?] chiens sauvages donnent dessus avec violence: mais bien lorsqu’on les entends crier lorsqu’on après avoir mordu l’animal, ils se sont fait piqués et perdu [lay lagente?] et qu’ils sont après dardés de partout du poil que cet animal chasse de son corps et le lance aussi avec vigueur sur le chien qui l’incommode quelquefois élans que si l’on maitre ou maitresse n’a soin de lui tirer bientôt ce poil, le chien en meurt infailliblement étant pénétré [tour à tour?] de ce même poil qui s’insinue insensiblement dans la chair jusqu’à ce qu’il ne paraît plus et ainsi il traverse tout le corps. J’ai vu des sauvages bien blessés de ces piquerons et souffrir de douleurs fort aigües jusqu’à ce que le poil qui leur était entré dans la cuisse peut sortir qu’avec de la douleur ne cesse point que cela ne soit sorti.

Ce même poil qui est si malin est d’un grand usage parmi nos sauvages qui l’ayant mis en teinture avec diverses racines qui font des couleurs jaunes, violettes, noires, rougeâtre et parfaitement rouges qu’il n’y a point d’écarlate si beau ni plus éclatant que celui qu’on voit dans plusieurs des beaux et des rares ouvrages que les femmes sauvagesses font.

Elles en font des tours de vestes précieux aussi bien qu’un autre certain ouvrage admirable où l'on voit 100 belles figures différentes ces ouvrages sont de prix parmi les barbares. On voit mille petites gentillesse aux souliers, aux bas {possiblement mitasses}, brayets, robes de castor, ceintures de deux ou trois façon, justaucorps, sac à pétun, sacs de conseils si rare et si précieux qu’on peut dire sans mentir( materiam superabat opus {citation latine} ) que l’ouvrage surpasse mille et mille fois la matière du poil de porc-épic qui [ d'en soi ?] est certainement une chose vile mais mise en ouvrage l’on peut dire que c’est quelque chose de beau. Est-ce que tous nos brodeurs ne sauraient pas faire des ouvrages, des dessins, ni plus beaux, plus justes. J’ai vue des couronnes faites de cette matière que de monarques n’auraient pas dédaignés de mettre sur leur tête non plus que les courtisans les plus propres n’auraient pas faits difficulté de séparer de certains ceinturons ou baudriers que j’ai vue faire par une sauvagesse le même baudrier fut présenté à un gouverneur du Canada qui puisse un jour fera gloire de le faire paraître à son côté au milieu de la cour; en vérité un prince estimerait cela tout de même que certaines [vanés?] ceintures qu’on fait dans nos bois propre à prendre un [manchon?] au col ceux qui en ont en France comme une chose assez rare pourrons bien confirmer ceci.

Cependant que nos sauvagesse viendront de la chasse avec plusieurs porc-épic ( c’est la chasse des femmes) et qu’elles tireront et choisiront sur l’animal le poil qui leur sera propre pour leur beaux ouvrages, et qu’elles grilleront le reste et le racleront avec un couteau( comme on racle les cochon en France) le porc-épic qui sans la brûlure capable de donner mal de tête à ces cerveaux faibles qui n’aiment que la senteur du musc ou de la livèche.

Si cet animal était pelé avec de l’eau chaude, il n’y a point de cochon de lait qui fusse meilleur ni plus blanc que le porc-épic qui est d’un goût exquis et délicat lorsqu’il est préparé à la française et mangé un peu mieux cuit et plus proprement que ne le préparent les sauvages. Kak - c’est le nom que notre nation donne à cet animal et à son poil kaouiak.

Chapter: Porcupine

The porcupine is an animal with clawed hooves. It climbs trees to gnaw the bark, stripping its favorites of their skin and causing their death. It is as ugly as some of the devils depicted in paintings of hell. There are large ones, small ones, and mediocre ones. It has a large, round head, porcelain eyes, a large, snub nose, and ears covered in long, bristly hair, beneath which hides another thick, black and white hair. I can compare it to nothing more than the quills of a hedgehog. Its body is misshapen, its legs short, and its feet equipped with large, well-arched claws. Its tail is quite long and thick, and the tip appears to have been cut off.

It lives in rock crevices. The wild dogs attack with violence: but it is very clear when one hears them cry out after they have bitten the animal, that they have been pricked and lost their fur, and that they are then covered all over with the hair that the animal drives from its body and throws with vigor at the dog, which sometimes bothers it. If the master or mistress does not take care to pull out this hair soon, the dog inevitably dies, being penetrated by this same hair which insinuates itself imperceptibly into the flesh until it is no longer visible, and thus it passes through the entire body. I have seen savages badly wounded by these pricks and suffering very acute pain until the hair that had entered their thigh could only come out with pain that does not cease until it has.

This same hair, so finely textured, is of great use among our natives. They dye it with various roots, producing yellow, violet, black, reddish, and perfectly vibrant reds. There is no scarlet so beautiful or more brilliant than that seen in many of the exquisite and rare works created by the native women.

They make precious jacket trims from it, as well as another remarkable piece featuring 100 different beautiful figures. These works are highly prized among the barbarians. We see a thousand little details of kindness in the shoes, the stockings (possibly leg warmer), the breeches, the beaver robes, the belts in two or three styles, the doublets, the tobacco pouch, the bags of advice so rare and precious that one can say without lying (materiam superabat opus {Latin quote}) that the workmanship surpasses a thousand times over the material of porcupine hair, which [in itself?] is certainly a base thing, but when put into work, one can say that it is something beautiful. Could not all our embroiderers create works, designs, no more beautiful, no more exquisite? I have seen crowns made of this material that monarchs would not have disdained to wear on their heads, just as the most refined courtiers would not have hesitated to separate from certain belts or baldrics that I saw made by a Native American woman. The same baldric was presented to a governor of Canada, who might one day boast of displaying it at his side in the midst of the court; truly, a prince would consider it just as suitable as certain [vanes?] belts made in our woods, suitable for holding a [muff?] around the neck. Those who have such things in France, as a rather rare item, can certainly confirm this.

Meanwhile, our savage women will return from the hunt with several porcupines (this is women's hunting), and they will pull and select from the animal the hair that suits them for their fine crafts, and they will roast the rest and scrape it with a knife (as one scrapes pigs in France). The porcupine, without the burning sensation capable of giving headaches to those weak minds that only appreciate the scent of musk or lovage, is not a good thing.

If this animal were skinned with hot water, there is no suckling pig that would be better or whiter than the porcupine, which has an exquisite and delicate taste when prepared in the French style and eaten a little more thoroughly cooked and more cleanly than the savages prepare it. Kak—that is the name our nation gives to this animal and its kaouiak hair.

 

I'm quite surprised to learn that porcupine hunting is considered a feminine activity! Contrary to what many survival manuals have stated in the past, it's not recommended to eat raw porcupine meat because they can carry tularemia. The Bioparc de la Gaspésie warns us that this disease is transmitted to humans by consuming undercooked meat or through direct contact between a wound and the animal's meat.

Illustration of a porcupine
from the Codex Canadensis
Source: Gilcrease Museum

 

The author Louis Nicolas speaks highly of the Indigenous peoples' decorative use of porcupine quills on their clothing. Even though he dislikes the quills themselves, calling them vile, he praises the decorations they produce. He believes that crowns made from these quills are fit for monarchs and princes 9 of Europe, of course), and that no courtier would part with such creations without great regret!

Louis Nicolas also mentions two or three ways of making belts, or at least that is how I interpret «ceintures de deux ou trois façons» (belts in two or three ways)in the list of objects that can be embroidered with porcupine quills.

This is not the first source in this article to emphasize the vibrant colors of porcupine quill belts or sashes. These wonderfully preserved moccasins demonstrate the full brilliance that dyed porcupine quills can possess.

HuronWendat mocassins
circa 1800
Source: National Museum of the American Indian

However, time has taken its toll on most of the surviving artifacts; the majority of the colors of the porcupine hairs have lost their luster over their three centuries of existence.

Bison hide moccasin, richly decorated with dyed porcupine hair, 
Objibwa Great Lake Area
Early 18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

Knife sheath decorated with dyed porcupine quills 
1740-1780
Source: Musée McCord

Porcupine quills are shaped to resemble tiny pearls. In some cases, the pearls and porcupine quills are found side by side.

Moccasin combining decoration of porcupine quills and rassade (glass bead) a
Haudenosaunee
Mid 18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

I admire above all the technique for creating micro-triangles with the hairs. A pattern that very vaguely reminds me of the "flame" pattern used in «fléché» (arrowed finger weaving) techniques.

Tobacco bag
Iroquois
Circa 1800
Source MET Museum

Tobacco bag painted and decorated with porcupine quills
Objibwa of the Great Lakes Area
Early 18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

This bag shows the use of paint to create arrows and a chevron pattern made with porcupine quills. This bag demonstrates that the arrow motif was present in Indigenous art before the appearance of written records of arrow sashes.

The use of arrows in clothing painting appears in several painted fur robes in the collections of the Musée Quai Branly Jacques Chirac.

Detail of a painted robe
Illinois
18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

painted robe
Illinois
18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

Detail of a painted robe
Quapaw
18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

Detail of a painted robe
Assiniboine
18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

Let's return to the techniques of decorating using porcupine quills:

Shoulder bag
Annishnabee
Circa 1780
Source:MET Museum 

This shoulder bag features three types of decoration using porcupine quills. Along the top and bottom edges, a fine white zigzag line is made with undyed quills sewn directly onto the bag. The decorative panels on the front of the bag were woven on a loom, and the shoulder strap is made of leather strips around which, in alternating pairs, the craftswoman wound dyed quills, creating a net-like weave. This particular motif on the shoulder strap was abandoned during the 19th century, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Detail of the shoulder bag
Annishnabee
Circa 1780
Source:MET Museum 

The diagonal induced by the selection of colors of the porcupine quills is reminiscent of the half-chevron pattern of finger braiding/weaving... The same hair-wrapping technique for a strap can be admired in this set of neck knife with its sheath.

Neck knife and its holder
Plains and Great Lakes Area
Circa 1750
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

Detail of a Neck knife
Plains and Great Lakes Area
Circa 1750
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

The alternating colors in triangles on the strap strongly remind me of the chevron pattern, a finger-weaving technique using wool.

The same technique can be seen on this belt, although its creation date is uncertain. Information from the Metropolitan Museum allows me to estimate it to be from before the 1800s.

Belt made with porcupine quills
St-Lawrence Area
Datation unknown
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac

 A sash made of wrapped porcupine quills with fringes ending in tin cones and deer hair
Fin XVIIIe siècle
Source: Musée Canadien de l'Histoire

The site GRASAC Sharing platform has closed-up pictures of this peculiar sash and

 

Source: GRASAC Sharing platform 

Some sashes looks like very long fringes made of enrolled pocupine quills.

Sash made with porcupine quills
from the collection «Arthur Speyer Indian Artifact»
pictured in 1975
Source: Musée Canadien de l'Histoire

 Porcupine quill belt or bag strap
Wyandot
18th century
Source Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac
 

As these latest artifacts show, the use of porcupine hair produces varied effects depending on how it is applied! There are still some belts made entirely of porcupine hair laid flat in small shiny triangles like the first pair of moccasins; they are scattered in museum collections.

Porcupine quill sash
From the collection of Sir Han Sloane gathered between 1680 and 1750
Source: British Museum

Porcupine hair sword belt
1760-1770
Source: Musée Canadien de l'histoire

Before sharing the next images with you, a little background on what you are about to see.

In 1780, the cabinet of curiosities belonging to the British collector Sir Ashton Lever was about to be dismantled and sold piece by piece in a lottery for financial reasons. However, he had the brilliant idea of ​​commissioning a painter, Sarah Stone, to paint each of his artifacts and thus preserve a record of the objects that had been part of his personal collection. A friend of the famous explorer and navigator James Cooke, Sir Ashton Lever possessed numerous artifacts from all over the world, including North America. The drawback is that my general knowledge leads me to assume that the objects selected here originate from the northern part of the New World. The advantage is that we know these objects were acquired no later than 1780, giving us a clear timeframe for their manufacture. I suspect that the majority of these objects date from the Seven Years' War rather than the American Revolutionary War, since the latter was still ongoing when these items were put up for sale.

This watercolor shows a close-up of what appears to be a belt of dyed porcupine quills, artfully arranged in a repetitive geometric pattern, covering the entire belt. Considering the immense amount of work that the manufacture of such belts must require, as much if not more than a 20th-century Assumption arrow sash, one can imagine that they were more expensive than those of wool only «garnies de porc-épic» (garnished with porcupine) mentioned by Kevin Gélinas and consequently rarer.

Drawing by Sarah Stone showing a North American artifact from the collection of Sir Ashton Lever.
Illustration from 1780
Source: British Museum

Drawing by Sarah Stone showing a North American artifact from the collection of Sir Ashton Lever.
Illustration from 1780
Source: British Museum

This design, although having colors that I had rarely seen on North American indigenous artifacts, can be attributed to the Anishnaabe Nation like the following garter from the collections of the Canadian Museum of History:

Garter with porcupine quills and long fringes
Anishnaabe
Circa 1780
Attributed to the John Caldwell Collection
Source: Musée Canadien de l'Histoire

Drawing by Sarah Stone showing a North American artifact from the collection of Sir Ashton Lever.
Illustration from 1780
Source: British Museum

This last illustration clearly shows what contemporary English speakers to call "wampum belts." French texts call them « colliers de porcelaine».

I would like to make a brief digression on porcelain necklaces. Their shapes, origins, and diplomatic use by the Comte de Frontenac are discussed at length in Claude-Charles Le Roy de la Potherie's "Histoire de l'Amérique septentrionale," published in 1722.

 Histoire de l'Amérique septentrionale... Tome 1

Claude-Charles Le Roy de Bacqueville de La Potherie,
1722 
Source: Gallica

These are tubular beads made from the mother-of-pearl of a shell, *Mercenaria mercenaria* (its Latin name), known as the American clam (its official French name), and also popularly as "clam," "coque," or "mye." English speakers call this mollusk the "quahog." Jonathan Lainey, in his 2004 book «La monnaie des sauvages»  (The Currency of the Savages), mentions on page 12 other shells that can produce wampum beads, such as *Colunella*, *Fulgur carica*, and *Pirula spicata*. Also in the same book, on page 18, Lynn Ceci estimates the production rate with metal tools at 42 white beads or 21 purple beads for a single craftsperson. I have not found any mention of using tools available before the introduction of European metal. This relatively long production time compared to porcupine quills made them an extremely valuable material in the eyes of all Indigenous peoples of North America. They were the embodiment of the spoken word, and the designs served as a mnemonic device for the official discourse of their nation. For more information on porcelain necklaces, I invite you to visit the McCord Stewart Museum's "Wampum: Pearls of Diplomacy" exhibition website, or to read Jonathan Lainey's book «La monnaie des sauvages» (Savage Currency).

For a long time, I believed that the following illustrations were of porcelain necklaces worn as belts. I realize now that these are very likely porcupine quill belts, given the colors and the powerful symbolism of the porcelain necklaces. I don't believe anyone would have risked losing, breaking, or damaging their people's diplomatic standing by wearing them as ordinary clothing. Having realized this, I won't dwell on the description of these "wampum belts." I simply wish to point out that the arrangement of the porcelain necklaces can resemble a form of beadwork similar to weaving, contradicting the notion that Indigenous peoples did not weave before the arrival of Europeans in North America. Furthermore, the geometric patterns of the porcupine quill belts can resemble those of the tubular beads on the porcelain necklaces.

Etowaucum, Roi de la Nation de la Rivière, Mohican

Artiste: John Verselst

1710

Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

Sagayenkwaraton, Roi des Maquas, Iroquois
Artiste: John Verselst
1710
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

Tejonihokarawa (baptisé Hendrick). Nommé Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga, Emperor of the Six Nation, Iroquois
Artiste: John Verselst
1710
Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

We can see the difference here between the purple and white wampum « colliers de porcelaine» that Tejonihokarawa holds in his hand with the three-colour belt in black, white and red, very possibly made of porcupine quills.

«Sauvage» Nepising en Canada
1717
Source: Library of Congress

Here too, the use of black and yellow suggests that the belts are made of dyed porcupine hair.

I continue here with portraits of Indigenous people created during the New France period.

French Ally, from Iles aux Tourtes, possibly Nepising
1732
Source: Library of Congress 

Let us conclude this overview of indigenous portraits with this watercolor dating from the late 18th century.

This watercolor realistically depicts Indigenous clothing, possibly from the Mi'kmaq or Abenaki Nation. The two men wear porcupine hair sashes crossed across their chests, and the man on the right wears one as a headband. The man in the center appears to be wearing a colored wool belt with fringes ending in metal cones and tufts of dyed deer hair, a decoration often featured in this article when it is made by the First Nation. However, as is too often the case, it is impossible to determine whether this belt is woven or simply finger-braided/woven.

What I take away from this initial exploration of Indigenous sources regarding the use of Indigenous materials in North America during the 17th and 18th centuries is this:

1. The Indigenous peoples of North America were familiar with spinning, dyeing, and finger-braided/weaving techniques before the arrival of Europeans with buffalo hair. Sheep were not the only possible source of wool. The Jesuit Louis Hennepin attests to this in his account of his North American experiences at the end of the 17th century in a book published in 1704
2. Indigenous peoples used geometric patterns, including arrowheads, to decorate leather robes with paint. Unlike weaving, paint is a medium that imposes no constraints. These linear and geometric patterns were therefore important to these peoples.
3. The use of dyed porcupine hair was probably the main source of color in Indigenous clothing before the importation of European wool. The colors of this hair were richer and more vibrant than those of European textiles during the same period. Father Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix, writing on October 20, 1721, also mentions buffalo wool dyed red, yellow, or black, used to make robes. It is not impossible that these same dyed threads were used for finger braiding/weaving of belts, garters, or straps.

In the next article, I will explore finger braiding/weaving wool sashes with european wool made by Indigenous peoples, as much as possible during the New France period.

I would like to thank Kévin Gélinas for sharing Louis Nicolas's manuscript and Joseph Gagné for his help in deciphering it. Special thanks to Raechel Katherine Ingram and Gilbert Desmarais for their reading as First Nations members. As always, a very special thank you to my friend Michel Thévenin for his proofreading in French and to google translate with its help for this translation.

See you soon for the next installment of my Indigenous research.

Mlle Canadienne