mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

mkak, box, birchbark

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Introduction

This relative is a birchbark mkak (box) decorated with porcupine quillwork in floral designs. It was made by Ojibwe-Euro-American writer Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Bamewawagezhikaquay) or her daughter, Jane Susan Ann Schoolcraft. According to the accompanying label, Schoolcraft's daughter filled this mkak with maple sugar and presented it to Mrs. General Patterson when she was brought to Philadelphia to enter boarding school between 1836-1837. In 1918, it was donated by Miss Ernestine A. Goodman to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology where it currently resides.

Name of Maker(s): Bamewawagezhikaquay (Jane Johnston Schoolcraft) or Jane Susan Ann Schoolcraft
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe Euro-American Ojibwe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, also known as Bamewawagezhikaquay, was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Her mother, Ozhaguscodaywayquay, was the daughter of Ojibwe leader, Waubojeeg. Her father John Johnston was a Irish fur trader. This mkak was made by either Jane or her daughter.

Place of Origin: Mackinac Island, MI, USA
Date Made or Date Range: before 1936
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on the catalogue card.

Materials

birchbark; porcupine quills natural and dyed yellow, orange, green, blue, and red faded to orange; ash splint; spruce root (unpeeled? dyed?); papered gauze/paper mache?; brown or black thread

Techniques or Format

The base is made from four pieces of birchbark. All outer edges are reinforced with ash splint, covered with spruce root. All four side panels have been scored near the bottom to create the base by folding the lower parts out. The panels are joined together with thread and covered with white and blue quillwork.

The cover is made from two symmetrical panels. There are holes in the centre length in them that suggest they were joined together at one point. Holes at the sides suggest that each panel was joined to the side, at the high point of the base. The flaps would have opened inwards.

Motifs and Patterns

The quillwork is done in geometric and stylized floral motifs on a vine.

Other Notes

Adriana Greci-Green says the shape resembles a picnic or bread basket.

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

Schoolcraft's daughter went to boarding school around 1936-1937.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: NA7788A-C
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/239278
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1918
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Gift of Miss Ernestine A. Goodman, 1918
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1836 to 1837
Collection Narratives and Histories

Label written by Miss Ernestine reads: "'Mokuk' made by Schoolcraft's (historian) daughter who married the great chief's daughter. The young girl presented a pair filled with maple sugar to Mrs. General Patterson when her father brought her to Phila. to enter school." 1836-1837. Beyond the Sagenay River."

Mrs. General Patterson was likely Sarah Engle, wife of Robert Patterson, a major in the U.S. Civil War. The donor, Miss Ernestine Abercrombie Goodman, is likely the niece of Patterson's son-in-law, John Joseph Abercrombie.

Source for Provenance information

Holmes, Anne. Nov. 8, 2021. "She Could Look Into the Heavens": Ojibwe Poet Jane Johnston Schoolcraft." Library of Congress Blogs.

GKS Reference Number: 25390
How to Cite this Item

Bamewawagezhikaquay (Jane Johnston Schoolcraft) or Jane Susan Ann Schoolcraft, 1836-1837. Mkak, box, birchbark. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, NA 7788 a,b,c. GRASAC ID 25390.

Record Creation Context

Visit to University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 6 2010. Researchers present: Adriana Greci-Green, Stacey Loyer, Coralie Boeykens.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on August 16, 2024.

Approximate Place of Origin

45.861253149489, -84.62439537223

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