Materials

Made with plaid cotton fabric, flanellette, blue denim, leather, cotton thread?

Techniques or Format

Plaid bag lined with burgundy flanellette and blue denim. Outer edge of bag has leather trim. Leather fasteners at top of bag.

Original and Subsequent Uses

Cath Oberholtzer notes the importance that moss bags had for Eeyou (Mistissini- Eastern James Bay Quebec Cree) mothers and their children. Directly after birth, the baby would be placed inside a moss bag, and then placed in a tikanagan (cradleboard), which supported the baby and allowed the mother to carry the child around. The moss bag would be filled with sphagnum moss, which functioned as an absorbent material. Oberholtzer observes, ‘Essentially an external womb, the moss bag and its tikanagan counterpart allow for direct physical intervention.” (Oberholtzer 267). The moss bag was used to keep the baby secure, clean and comfortable in their environment while they observed and learned from the life around them. When the mother did not have the tikanagan strapped to her back, the cradle might be leaned against a tree in order for the baby to observe the world and for the mother to keep an eye on the child (Oberholtzer 271).

Condition: Plaid has large tear and leather trim is fraying, indicating it was well used.

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

NMAI Catalog Card.

Current Location: National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. USA

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 22/4092

Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1954

GKS Reference Number: 26685

How to Cite this Item

Item to be cited by Catalog Number, Collection and Institution.

Record Creation Context

Record created as part of practicum in fall 2008.