A Cape Covered in Wealth: Interpreting Colonial Encounter in Museum Collections

Museum collections sometimes present researchers with unanticipated objects; however, through careful research, close material examination, and an understanding of cultural-historical context, these material outliers may prove revealing. This paper examines one such anomaly: a Nuu-chah-nulth (NCN) F...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Green, Denise Nicole
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Iowa State University Digital Repository 2013
Subjects:
Ceremony
Nuu-chah-nulth
Colonialism
Museums
Fiber
Textile
and Weaving Arts
Indigenous Studies
Museum Studies
First Nations
Online Access:https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/itaa_proceedings/2013/presentations/111
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2543&context=itaa_proceedings
Description
Summary:Museum collections sometimes present researchers with unanticipated objects; however, through careful research, close material examination, and an understanding of cultural-historical context, these material outliers may prove revealing. This paper examines one such anomaly: a Nuu-chah-nulth (NCN) First Nations’ dentalium-covered plaited cedar bark cape trimmed with mountain goat wool. Through ethnological contextualization, followed by analysis of the cape’s material, manufacture, and provenance, I use the cape to interpret power relations, colonial encounter, and NCN social organization at the turn of the century.

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