This delicate basket is from a California tribe named Karuk, meaning “upriver people”. The Karuk were the only tribe in California to grow tobacco plants. Traditional basket materials for the Karuk are willow, pine root, bear grass, maidenhair fern, and woodwardia. The four central ‘lightning’ lines utilize a quilled technique […]
museumadmin
401 posts
Bags and pouches were used for many things. This photo shows an Arapaho paint pouch. The beadwork covering this item is done in a pattern called “lazy stitch”, meaning that several beads were strug at a time and set into rows. Even putting 10 beads on at a time, it […]
Natives used these tiny little glass beads (often called “seed” beads) to bring color to so many different aspects of their life. Because of their size, it is easy to form them into delicate patterns as well as large spaces of color. But where did they get the beads? While […]
This is a fantastic carving of a bear. The Zuni were, and still are, the most well known for their fetish carving. Wait…did we just say “fetish”? The word may not have the same conotations here as its contemporary use. In this context, the word fetish goes back to its […]
This is our wishing drum! If you have visited our museum before, no doubt you have been greeted with an invitation to make a wish on the drum. You have to keep your wish a secret, hold it deep in your hear till it comes true. It is also said […]