Post by Okwes on Mar 27, 2007 14:24:24 GMT -5
Exhibit Celebrates American Indian bags as Works of Art
by Joe Fraley
_zoe.fraley.@bellinghamherald.com_ (mailto:zoe.fraley.@bellinghamherald.com)
(360) 756-2803
Before Louis Vuitton stamped his monogram on luggage, Northwest tribes were
weaving their own signature bags and baskets.
Throughout the years, these bags have evolved alongside the tribes
themselves. Their designs and the tales behind them will be the focus of the Whatcom
Museum of History & Art’s newest exhibit, opening Sunday.
“They’re beautiful,” says Toni Nagel, photo archivist and curator for the
museum. “A lot of the designs are geometric or floral patterns, and the designs
have meaning to the various tribes. It’s our hope that maybe we can gain
some insight into the meaning of the designs.”
The exhibit, “Heritage of Design: American Indian and First Nation Treasures
from the Maryhill Museum,” will run until June 10 and will feature hand-woven
artifacts from tribes in the Plateau region of the Northwest, which includes
British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. The Whatcom Museum
is collaborating with the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale to provide the
collection of more than 50 items. The Maryhill Museum was founded by Sam
Hill, who was involved in the creation of the Peace Arch at the border.
“The focus of the exhibit is to show how things are done from the other side
of the (Cascade) mountains,” Nagel says.
The exhibit will compare and contrast the work of local tribes with work from
tribes between the Cascades and the Rockies as well as Canada. Featured
tribes include the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla and Yakama, as well as First
Nation tribes from the Shuswap, Lillooet, Okanagan and Thompson River areas.
“A lot of people here have Thompson and Fraser River baskets that their
families have traded over the years,” she says. “There’s been a constant
interaction. We’re trying to show the connection that exists historically and today.”
The art of weaving twine bags goes back centuries among the Plateau tribes,
though styles have changed throughout the years. What was once a boldly
decorated, utilitarian bag used for daily tasks evolved into a more delicate and
small bag to contain personal belongings.
“You can see how the tradition has evolved over time,” she says. “A lot of
it is how we live today versus how we lived 150 years ago.”
Throughout the exhibit’s run, the museum will offer educational programs,
demonstrations and workshops, as well as a Northwest basket-weaver fair
featuring local weavers in April to show how bags and baskets are used today.
“They still are used for gathering today, but because of the changes in our
society over the last 150 years, they’re more decorative and ceremonial. They’
re looked at as art.”
by Joe Fraley
_zoe.fraley.@bellinghamherald.com_ (mailto:zoe.fraley.@bellinghamherald.com)
(360) 756-2803
Before Louis Vuitton stamped his monogram on luggage, Northwest tribes were
weaving their own signature bags and baskets.
Throughout the years, these bags have evolved alongside the tribes
themselves. Their designs and the tales behind them will be the focus of the Whatcom
Museum of History & Art’s newest exhibit, opening Sunday.
“They’re beautiful,” says Toni Nagel, photo archivist and curator for the
museum. “A lot of the designs are geometric or floral patterns, and the designs
have meaning to the various tribes. It’s our hope that maybe we can gain
some insight into the meaning of the designs.”
The exhibit, “Heritage of Design: American Indian and First Nation Treasures
from the Maryhill Museum,” will run until June 10 and will feature hand-woven
artifacts from tribes in the Plateau region of the Northwest, which includes
British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. The Whatcom Museum
is collaborating with the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale to provide the
collection of more than 50 items. The Maryhill Museum was founded by Sam
Hill, who was involved in the creation of the Peace Arch at the border.
“The focus of the exhibit is to show how things are done from the other side
of the (Cascade) mountains,” Nagel says.
The exhibit will compare and contrast the work of local tribes with work from
tribes between the Cascades and the Rockies as well as Canada. Featured
tribes include the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla and Yakama, as well as First
Nation tribes from the Shuswap, Lillooet, Okanagan and Thompson River areas.
“A lot of people here have Thompson and Fraser River baskets that their
families have traded over the years,” she says. “There’s been a constant
interaction. We’re trying to show the connection that exists historically and today.”
The art of weaving twine bags goes back centuries among the Plateau tribes,
though styles have changed throughout the years. What was once a boldly
decorated, utilitarian bag used for daily tasks evolved into a more delicate and
small bag to contain personal belongings.
“You can see how the tradition has evolved over time,” she says. “A lot of
it is how we live today versus how we lived 150 years ago.”
Throughout the exhibit’s run, the museum will offer educational programs,
demonstrations and workshops, as well as a Northwest basket-weaver fair
featuring local weavers in April to show how bags and baskets are used today.
“They still are used for gathering today, but because of the changes in our
society over the last 150 years, they’re more decorative and ceremonial. They’
re looked at as art.”