Artistry

Creative is an important aspect to Wabanaki.

In the past archeological evidence demonstrate the creativity and artistry of the ancestors. We get a glimpse in the colors they choose to make stone tools. There are beautiful and intricate designs decorating the pottery. The copper artifacts in Metepenagaig preserved just enough to see that moose hair tessels and other types of plant material that were used to create bags and containers. During the hardest of times after contact the Wabanaki sold their creative goods to the setters for survival. Birch bark containers were decorated with elaborate stitching and curving designs with some of these etching were made to tell stories. Porcupine quills are also used adorn bitch bark. Ash splints from a black ash tree were used to make basketry for decorative and utility purpose.Some artisans used glass beads, which were sewn on trade cloth to create dazzling apparel or onto leather for pouches, regalia, and moccasins. These beaded designs include floral and geometric motifs, as well as the well-known double curve motif. Many artists have displayed their dreams and visions in elaborate paintings. Some show their talent as theatrical aspirations such as plays and musicals. We have many written stories that depict a Wabanaki perspective that can transform the viewpoint of discrimination.

Porcupine Quills

Quillwork was stitched onto the surface of birchbark. Designs were cut from birchbark or rawhide and used as templates that were outlined with pens made from flat, sharpened pieces of bone dipped in stains. Awls were needed to pierce insertion holes along the pattern lines in warmed and wet bark. The awls were made from bones and antlers or thorns. Porcupine quills soaked to make them soft and pliable. The ideal way to moisten quills was saliva. Many crafters held the quills in the mouth with the barbed end pointed out. Once the quill was moistened, it was trimmed and flattened. A quill was flattened by placing it against a hard surface and running a smooth hard object over it such as polished done, antler, wood or the back of the crafter’s thumbnail. The base of the prepared quill has been inserted into one of the pierced holes and the tip into another. It was important to stitch the quills quickly, before they dried and stiffened. Traditionally, the thread would have been made from animal sinew, which did not require the use of a needle. It was and still is, an “eye exhausting, time-consuming art form.”

Moccasins

Wabanaki clothing was made from skins of mammals that were tanned using animals’ brains and smoke. A long process of stretching and working the skins produced soft tanned, waterproof leather that was sewn to make robes, skirts, leggings, dresses, shirts, breechcloths, and moccasins. Soft-soled moccasins traditionally referred to a shoe with a puckered u-shaped vamp over the instep that was well suited from traveling through woodlands. The most basic moccasins are made from a single piece of tanned leather. There are several variations of moccasins construction depending whether or not they have vamp, cuffs and tabs. A tiny tab or tail, trimmed to different shapes, could be added to the base of the heel or sewn up the heel for added reinforcement. Moccasins were assembled inside out and traditionally; stitching would be done with sinew through holes punched with a bown awl. The cuff and vamp of Wabanaki moccasins were frequently decorated with beads. Some moccasins makers a piece of velvet or leather that was sewn on yet could be removed when the soles wore out.

Olonoksonok

Waponahkeweyol oqtewakonol kisitahsuponil ewehkehtit motekon 'ce weyossisok kisi mimekonahsik ewehkotit weyossisuwey wilitp naka pkot. Sipkiw cuwi siptokehtahu naka elukehtasik motekon oc nukatokot, naka mate espew on ehta liqasu 'ciw keypok, ahtulhawiyik, tahqonesunol, mahkutiyil, askatiyil, wolekiyik naka olonaksonok. Nuhkatokosilit olonakson eyuwahtitpon Waponahkiyik. Nit eliwihtasit olonakson'ciw pkoson aputektek tehsahqiw weci 'komasi yalapahsitit kcikok. Piyemiyut olonoksonok, psekon motekon ewehkahsik. Wisoki militahsuwok olonoksonok etokiw ihitit motekon tehsahqiw, eli-topiqasik naka motekonapiyil. Apsokiqok motekonap, kosona, soqon, milsahsik tehp kisi cihciqahsu woqonok weci piyemi woli sakolahtek. Olonoksonok mecimiw toli mawitahsuwok lamiw oloqiw, mawiqasuwok ewehakahsik weyossisuwey wolan sapiw walokol kisitahsik ewehkehtit skonisey cossakon. Waponahkeweyok olonoksonok mecimiw amalhiyawa ewehkahatit qapsis eli-topiqasik naka motekonok tehsahqiw. Anqoc olonoksonok eliyahtit 'punomoniya motekon tan kisi monehtasik tuwalkipusitit.

Beadwork

Originally, Wabanaki beads were carved from shells (wampum), bone, stones, wood, copper and other natural materials. They were used for necklaces and other decorative purposes. Glass beads were not used until the Europeans brought them 500 years ago and they quickly became part of Wabaki culture. As beads of uniform size and varied color became available in sufficient quantity, beadwork quickly became a dominant decorative form in Wabanaki communities. The Wabanaki made and sold souvenir beadwork such as bags, hats and items that are referred to as whimsies during the 19th century. The beaded bags were often in the shape of a vase or an inverted keyhole and had flower and leaf patterns. Many of the flowers resemble daisies and may have five to 15 petals while beaded leaf patterns are shaped as a heart or oval. Today glass beads, particularly fine seed beads, are the primary materials for traditional beaders.

Fancy Baskets

For centuries, the Wabanaki used basketry as one means of passing on their heritage. Traditionally, woodsplint and birch bark baskets were made for practical use and trading. In the 19thcentury, baskets made of ash and sweetgrass became a means of economic and cultural survival. This was a time of deprivation for the Wabanaki, living on reservations, with limited land to hunt and fish. It caused them to become increasingly dependent on the European economy and trade goods. Economic survival prompted the production of fancy baskets to sell locally and to the tourist market.

Wabanaki weavers began to produce fancy baskets to appeal to 19th century collectors and tourists. Basket makers set up summer camps near tourism locations to be near their customers however, the tourism market began to decline by the 1930’s. Sales continued on a smaller scale but by the late 20thcentury, there were very few basket makers practicing the craft. At the turn of the last century, an appreciation for the value and craftsmanship of Wabanaki basket making began to develop and it became viewed as a high quality traditional art. As a valued heritage art form, Wabanaki baskets now command a price that more closely reflects the time, labour, materials and skills that go into each basket.

Picnic Baskets

About 1884, young Sabbatis Tomah of Pleasant Point Reserve was in trouble with the law, he was wrongly accused. Tomah went into hiding with the Whidden family until his innocence was proven. During his stay, the daughter of the family, Beryla, was seriously ill with diphtheria. Tomah sat with her and told her the legends of his people. After she recovered and Tomah was able to leave, he brought her this basket as a gift. Illustrated on the basket are legends and scenes of hunts and community life. “Mikidihamin” means “remember me” in Passamoquoddy.

Moose Hair

Tufting produces 3-dimensional images by attaching and trimming bundles of moose hair onto tanned hide or birchbark. Moose hair was the preferred material for tufting because of its stiff texture.

As the moose hide was tanned, the hairs would be handpicked, sorted according to length and colour and then washed, soaked and if desired, dyed. To create the tufts, hairs were grouped into small bundles and knotted at one end. The knot would be placed on the underside of the work, the loose ends brought up to the front side and the process repeated until the design was filled, after which, the ends would be trimmed. The hairs would be kept moist and pliable by putting them in the mouth or rolling them in a damp cloth.

Moose hair tufting and moose hair embroidery were often used together. Moose hair embroidery began around 1700 when French Ursuline Nuns started teaching young Native girls how to embroider in the Quebec convent schools. When cloth and silk thread became scarce, they started to use moose hair and birchbark. Tufting requires great patience and a sure, steady hand.