One of the most easily recognized beads used in native crafts is the hairpipe shown here. The oldest known beads of this style were made from shell and can date as far back as 4,000 yeas ago! Hairpipes have been made from a variety of materials including bone, horn, silver, […]
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In a previous post, we shared information on Inuit dolls made by young girls. But not all dolls were made by children. Adults often made dolls designed for the tourist trade. While the children’s work lacked a lot of artistic detail, the dolls made by adults for sale to the […]
The museum events have changed over the past few years. Our event for 2013 was the Sharing Circle, where we invited our guests to talk about their experience with their heritage.
Not all Kachinas are serious; there is a group of Kachinas known as Sacred Clowns. Each Kachina has a purpose in the dances, and the clowns often act out in either eccentric, comical, or negative ways in between dances. Through these actions, the Sacred Clowns provide lessons on improper behavior […]
Not all beads used by natives were symmetrical or perfectly formed. For example, animal teeth were often used to create art or adorn regalia. Early tooth beads had a hole drilled through them to allow a string or sinew to pass through. Later, after some of the tribes became proficient […]
Inuit girls were taught at a very young age the basic skills needed to perform adult tasks. Those skills were learned by a child through the creation of her own set of dolls representing activities for every day life. Usually an older female relative helped the youngster master the skills […]
Buttons, especially metal military buttons, are often found when archaeologists are excavating the site of a native village. Does this mean that the two groups lived in harmony together? Not necessarily. While it was not unheard of for natives and Europeans to coexist, more commonly, the two relied on each […]
Kachinas are often seen during celebration and ceremonial dances of the Pueblo tribes. During the ceremonial dances, a specific Kachina, or group of Kachinas, will be seen participating. Social dances are a bit more open and the same Kachinas are not always participating. The Kachina featured here is called Poli […]
We discussed the tufa stone and sandcasting types of molding techniques the Navajo used for their silversmithing, but some of the work that is produced is too thin to be efficiently molded. So how did they make some of the thin detail work? This was done by hammering out coins! […]
The figure featured here a tihu, or what is commonly call a Kachina Doll. Kachinas originate out of the Pubelo tribes of the Southwest and each one represents a different spirit in the world; from clouds to bears and from clowns to mothers. Even though most will call it a […]
n response to our invitation for suggestions and questions for Museum Monday features, we were delighted that Becky Rollinson asked if wampum was used as currency by the tribes on the Outer Banks. The word “Wampum” actually comes from the Narragansett (from Rhode Island) and literally means ‘white shell beads.’ […]
Making a mold out of tufa stone was discussed in a previous post, but how did the Navajo mass produce some of their work if the mold would only work for a small number of pieces? In the mid 1800’s the Navajo started a process that is known as sandcasting. […]