mkak, container, birchbark and sweetgrass

mkak, container, birchbark and sweetgrass

mkak, container, birchbark and sweetgrass

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Introduction

This purse-shaped Anishinaabe mkak (box/container) is made from wiigwaas (birchbark) with a handle made from sweetgrass. It was collected by Amos H. Gottschall between 1871 and 1905. His collection was likely left to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANS) sometime before 1937. ANS formally gifted the collection to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1997, where this relative currently resides.

Name of Maker(s): Maker unrecorded
Nation of Maker: Anishinaabe Ojibwe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Described on the card as "Chippewa" (Ojibwe).

Place of Origin: Michigan (Northern Michigan), USA
Date Made or Date Range: Before 1905
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation.

Materials

second growth birchbark; sweetgrass; black thread; basswood or cedar tassels and twine; porcupine quills, dyed green.

Techniques or Format

Made of birch bark panels, joined by sweetgrass bunches.
It is in the shape of a purse, with braided sweetgrass handles, attached to the container with a double-loop pattern (perhaps referred to as a frog handle). The lid is tacked shut. There is one porcupine quill (dyed green) tack.

Dimensions: 15.2 × 10.7 × 11.7 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Gottschall collected between 1871 and 1905.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 97-84-69 (UPenn number); L-84-69 (old museum number); 18011 (ANS number); II 277 (Gottschall number)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/181086
Collection at Current Location: Amos H. Gottschall Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1997
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Gift of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1997
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1871 to 1905
Collection Narratives and Histories

This relative was collected by Amos H. Gottschall between 1871 and 1905. His collection was likely left to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANS) sometime before 1937. ANS formally gifted the collection to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in 1997, where this relative currently resides.

Publication History

Gottschall, Amos H. Priced and Descriptive Catalogue of the Utensils, Implements, Weapons, Ornaments, Etc., of the Indians, Mound Builders, Cliff Dwellers: Typical Collections No. 2. 1909. (See: II 277)

GKS Reference Number: 26906
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Mkak, container, birchbark and sweetgrass. GRASAC ID 26906. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 97-84-69.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a research visit to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, May 6, 2010.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on January 11, 2025.

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