Materials

Birch, elm, or hickory bark, grass, pebbles or acorns inside.

Techniques or Format

The bark is soaked and folded over, pebbles or acorns placed inside and then it is tied and dried.

Other Notes

During a MMMC session the following remarks were made whilst handling this rattle:
Jacqui: "This is from Six Nations, I do not know which one of the nations it belonged to but it is ... The first ones were made of elm bark and ....They were really colourful medicine shakers. They don't make them anymore. I have one upstairs and it has two eyes on it. Looks like people, somebody look at us. It was made in one of those Residential Schools. You bend it over ... We used to put acorns inside. We put four acorns inside and you bend it back and your tie it up on a stick. This inner bark is birch."
Peggy: "We used to make those out of birch. My dad was a...like a healer, a medicine man. He used to make those, and sit around a big fire. He would chant, and sing, and stuff like that."

Dimensions: 22 × 10 × 3 cm

Condition: Very good, there are small cracks from the bark drying out but overall it is stable

Current Location: Native Canadian Centre of Toronto

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 2012.1.70

Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 2012

Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Unknown

Collection Narratives and Histories

The provenance of this rattle is unknown, it was accessioned and catalogued into the collection in 2012 but there is no record as to how or when it came into the NCCT's collection. It is possible it was part of a large donation by the Anglican Church Women in 1976 however it does not have the accompanying ACW tags that the rest of the donation has. Other objects were donated to the NCCT over the years, particularly for fundraising sales, it is possible it was donated for such a sale.

GKS Reference Number: 27355

How to Cite this Item

Unknown Mohawk artist, birch rattle. Currently at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, 2012.1.70. Information obtained from conversations with former History Project coordinator June Allison and from Monica Bodirsky's handwritten notes, NCCT Archive; GRASAC item id 27355.

Record Creation Context

The information found in these records was generated as a part of a research project entitled Memory, Meaning-making and Collections in which Anishinaabe and Cree seniors engaged in handling sessions with objects in the collection of the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto. As a research partnership between the University of Toronto and the NCCT, these sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed. Additional information was collected through archival, secondary and comparative research methods. An archive of the project is stored with First Story Toronto at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto. For more information on archived interviews or archival material please contact Dr. Cara Krmpotich.