Materials

Porcupine quills (coloured red, yellow, and black),tanned animal hide, sinew, dyed animal hair (probably deer), metal cones.

Techniques or Format

These garters were made using the netted quillwork tecnique (flattened porcupine quills are wrapped around paired skin thongs. The thongs are then warpped in atlternating pairs to form a lattice). The ends of the netted quills are secured with a row of sinew twineing, the ends of the thongs are left long to form a free-hanging fringe (10 fringes on each end). The fringe thongs are wroapped in pairs with white, black, and red quills. Seven of these are finished with a tuft of dyed red hair(probably deer) enclosed in a metal cone. The bottom of the gartes have been similarly embellished, yellow and black quill-wrapped sinew tassels have been threaded through the bottom of the netted weave (there are 16 bottom tassels on one garter and 17 onthe other). The ends of these tassels are also wrapped in a metal cone which holds a tuft of the same type of dyed red hair.

Motifs and Patterns

The geometric design motif features two parellel black and yellow zigzags on a field of red. Each zigzag is three quills wide and are seperated from each other by three red quills.

Original and Subsequent Uses

Various styles of garters can be seen in many archival paintings, drawings, and photographs. They are worn below the knee over leggings; it is unclear if they are used for keeping the leggings in place or for adornment purposes.

Dimensions: 67 × 3.5 × 0 cm

Condition: Overall, these garters are in good condition. There are a few missing quills in the main body of the gartes, three metal cones seem to be missing, and there is very little hair in one of the cones.

Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

The CMC has given this date range based on materials used and construction techniques, comparative examples confirm that this is an accurate estimate. Furthermore, Charles Alston Messiter (1841 – 1920) collected the garters during one of his trips to North America, which he made in 1862, 1866, and 1874. Therefore it can be confirmed that they were made prior to 1874.

Current Location: Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Canada

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: III – X – 373 a-b

Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1982-04-24

Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: Collected on one of Messiter's trips to North America which he made in 1862, 1866, and 1874.

Sources to Learn More

Brasser, Theodore. Native American Indian Clothing: an Illustrated History (Richmond Hill: Firefly Books, 2009).
There is a photograph of these garters on page 100. Their current location is listed as "unknown", the image is "courtesy of the Messiter Collection."

GKS Reference Number: 25619

Record Creation Notes/Observations

This record was made in conjunction with Ruth Phillips' Indigenous Arts of the Great Lakes Region: Historical Contexts and Cultural Translations class at Carleton University, Fall 2010.