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Bag, finger woven
Bag, finger woven
Bag, finger woven
This relative, a small rectangular finger-woven bag, includes an underwater Misshipeshoo/Mshibzhiw/Mshibzhiw (panther), on one side and a bnesi (thunderbird) on the other. Composed of nettlestalk fibre and wool yarn, vertical bands coloured purple-red-light blue-yellow-green-yellow-blue-red-purple appear at either end of the bag. The panther and thunderbird have been woven with green material. The origins of the relative are not certain; however, it has probable connections to the Anishinaabe and was collected by British Army Officer Jasper Grant between 1800 and 1809.
This relative currently resides at the National Museum of Ireland.
GRASAC researcher notes indicate that there is a potential that this relative could also be of Sauk origin.
GRASAC research notes indicate that finger woven bags were made by central Great Lakes peoples. Plain or striped bags were made for storage and utilitarian purposes, while bags with images of the manitos and motifs symbolizing their powers were used as containers for medicine bundles. The Grant bags are of the 'fibre panel' type and may be the earliest collected samples of such bags.
This record draws on images and information recorded in Ruth Phillips's book, Patterns of Power. Kleinburg, On.: McMichael Canadian Collection, 1984.
Read More About This Relative
Nettlestalk fibre; wool yarn, green, purple, red, light blue, yellow
Finger woven
Thunderbird, underwater panther or Misshipeshoo
Fibre panel type of finger woven bags. Finger woven bags were made by central Great Lakes peoples. Plain or striped bags were made for storage and utilitarian purposes while bags with images of the manitos and motifs symbolizing their powers were used as containers for medicine bundles. The Grant bags are of the 'fibre panel' type and may be the earliest collected samples of such bags.
Jasper Grant served as commandant of Fort George in the Niagara Peninsula and of Fort Malden at Amherstburg opposite Detroit from 1800-1809.
Provenance
Jasper Grant (1762-1812), Anglo-Irish officer who spent 9 years in Canada between 1800-1809. Served as commandant of Fort George in the Niagara Peninsula and of Fort Malden at Amherstburg opposite Detroit. It is likely that his wife, Isabella Grant, played a significant role in the collection of items given her close relationship to Madeline Askin Richardson, the daughter of a prominent fur trader and merchant with extensive ties to the surrounding Indigenous communities.
GRASAC researcher notes from research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 21, 2010.
In 1984-1985 the Jasper Grant Collection was featured in a special travelling exhibition for the Ontario bicentennial, which was organized by the McMichael Canadian Collection and entitled "Patterns of Power."
Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power. Kleinburg,On.: McMichael Canadian Collection, 1984.
Philips, Ruth B. (1986-87). “Jasper Grant and Edward Walsh: the Gentleman-Soldier as Early Collector of Great Lakes Indian Art.” Journal of Canadian Studies 21(4): 56-71.
About This GRASAC Record
Maker, Name unrecorded. Bag, finger woven. GRASAC ID 25641. National Museum of Ireland Collection, NMI 1902.329.
This record was augmented by Dana Murray on September 26, 2024. It draws on images and information recorded in Ruth Phillips's book, Patterns of Power. Kleinburg, On.: McMichael Canadian Collection, 1984, as well as the GRASAC research trip to the National Museum of Ireland on July 21, 2010. Participants included Alan Corbiere, Crystal Migwans, Bhenens Corbiere, Nikolaus Stolle, Rachel Hand, and Ruth Phillips, and was assisted by Padraig Clancy.
42.107, -83.1132
This information was informed by the following resource: Phillips, Ruth. Patterns of Power. Kleinburg, On.: Patterns of Power, 1984. Fort Walden is identified on the map as a possible origin for this relative, but this reflects only one place where the relative may have lived. It is not a known place of origin; it is only one location associated with where the collector, Jasper Grant, served in the British Army.