baaga'adowaan, lacrosse stick and ball

baaga'adowaan, lacrosse stick and ball

baaga'adowaan, lacrosse stick and ball

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Introduction

This is relative is an Anishinaabe baaga'adowaan or lacrosse stick and ball. Carved from a single piece of wood, the stick includes twine that has been woven through holes in the upper portion to form a net that secures the upper wooden loop. The baaga'adowaan (lacross stick) and ball likely date to the late nineteenth to early twentieth century and were collected by Amos H. Gotschall at Red Lake, Minnesota. 

Gottschall collected 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 these relatives currently reside.

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

Ojibwe from Red Lake Nation.

Place of Origin: Red Lake Nation, Miskwaagamiiwi-Zaagaiganing
Date Made or Date Range: Before 1905
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on documentation from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Materials

wood; twine.

Techniques or Format

The stick was carved from a single piece of wood. Twine has been woven through holes in the upper portion to make a net, and has been used to secure the upper wooden loop.

Dimensions: 82 × 11.5 × 0 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Sticks of this style were made during this period. Gottschall collected between 1871 and 1905.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 97-84-2088A (stick); 97-84-2088B (ball); L-84-2088A-B (old museum numbers); 17931 (ANS number); I 1288 (Gottschall number)
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/6319
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

They were 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 these relatives currently reside.

Source for Provenance information

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

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. 1. 1909. (See: I 1288)

GKS Reference Number: 25062
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Name unrecorded. Baaga'adowaan, lacrosse stick and ball. GRASAC ID 25062. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 97-84-2088A-B.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a GRASAC site research visit by Alan Corbiere, David Penney, Stacey Loyer, Ruth Phillips and William Wierzbowski (curator) on December 2, 2009.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on March 3, 2025.

Approximate Place of Origin
Marker
Source of Information about Places

The pin has been placed on the Red Lake Nation Government Center. This does not reflect the place of origin for the stick and ball. It represents the Red Lake Nation as a whole.

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