naakan bullrush mat

naakan bullrush mat

naakan bullrush mat

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Introduction

This relative is a naakan rush mat, made of bullrush basswood. Tan in colour, this mat has 23 weft rows and no patterned motifs. This mat is one of five bullrush mats purchased by Harrington in 1905, a field collector working for the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography. Harrington's notes describe his discussion of the ancestor with Mrs. Jim Blain, wife of James Blain, councillor in Aamjiwnaang for the chiefly terms of 1889 and 1895, and Chapel Steward according to the 1885 Department of Indian Affairs financial ledger. These notes claim that this mat is a typical Sarnia style. This relative is currently located in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography. 

Nation of Maker: Ojibwe
Nation of Origin

This rush mat is Sarnia made, as described by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography.  

Place of Origin: Sarnia, ON
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Information from this entry comes from John Devoy's essay titled "Bulrush Mats Purchased at Aamjiwnaang", student of Alan Corbiere at Harvard University, and The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography's catalogue.

Materials

Bullrush basswood.

Other Notes

"The Plains are one of the most prominent families of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, repeatedly occupying the position of chief from the time of Nicholas Plain Sr..[..] (chief 1870-1874, 1882-1884) up to the present day with Christopher Plain (chief 2005-2016, 2018-present). James’ position of authority in the local church, seat on the chiefly council in the late nineteenth century, and familial relationship with sitting chiefs attests his significance in the community." (John Devoy, 2023).

Dimensions: 102 × 217 × 0 cm
Current Location: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 05-19-10/65011
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/5634?ctx=f7dc6807f740077517b03fe02a31c31a8ae3878b&idx=0
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: The collector and dealer of this relative was Dr. Mark Raymond Harrington, then an apprentice field collector working for Peabody Museum curator Frederic Ward Putnam (04/01/1905).
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1905
Previous Collectors: Dr. Mark Raymond Harrington
Collection Narratives and Histories

Harrington's 1905 log describes the mat as "“nak-gun” or rush mat, plain. Warp cords in pairs. From Mrs. Jim Blain. A typical Sarnia-made mat, I am told."

The mat was purchased alongside five other mats, Harrington explains in a May 1905 letter to Putnam that the fourth mat was never sent because his wife “took an especial fancy to [it]” (Cf. Harvard Peabody Museum document collection, letter dated May 17th, 1905).

Sources to Learn More

Dominion of Canada, Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the Year Ended 31st December, 1885, Ottawa: Maclean, Roger & Co., 1886, 17.

James A. Wells, Chiefs and Councillors: Ontario Region, Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1993, 92.

GKS Reference Number: 59160
How to Cite this Item

Unknown Maker. "Naakan bullrush mat", GKS ID 59160. Located at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, catalogue number 05-19-10/65011.

Record Creation Context

This record was created by Natasha Fares on February 26th, 2024. Information from this entry comes from John Devoy's essay titled "Bulrush Mats Purchased at Aamjiwnaang", student of Alan Corbiere at Harvard University, and The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography's catalogue.

Approximate Place of Origin

42.9745, -82.4066

Source of Information about Places

This ancestor is from Sarnia, ON. 

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