stick, stirring

stick, stirring

stick, stirring

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Introduction

This wooden stirring stick is made from maple. It is light blonde in colour, and has a paddle-shaped bottom. This ancestor has a rectangular handle and a narrow body. Seated on top of the handle is a carved bird finial. GRASAC researchers suggest this ancestor was used for cooking. This relative is currently located at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Nation of Maker: Odawa
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

DIA records

Place of Origin: Michigan, USA
Date Made or Date Range: 1890
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

DIA records and GRASAC researcher notes

Materials

maple wood

Techniques or Format

Wooden stirring stick: light blonde color; paddle-shaped with narrow blade; thin handle swelling slightly in the middle.

Motifs and Patterns

finial with single hole and carved bird form seated on top.

Additional Context

GRASAC researcher Darlene Johnson, Associate Professor of Law & Academic Director of the Indigenous Legal Studies Program, University of British Columbia, thinks it is an owl, but others were not sure. Eyes to front with big head suggests owl, but not in an upright position.

Original and Subsequent Uses

Stirring stick used for cooking

Dimensions: 18.625 × 2 × 0.875 in
Current Location: Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 81.139
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://dia.org/collection/stirring-stick-56266
Collection at Current Location: Chandler Pohrt Collection
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1981
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Richard A. Pohrt
Collection Narratives and Histories

Mose (Cross Village, Michigan, USA)

purchased by Richard A. Pohrt [1911-2005] (Flint, Michigan, USA)

1981-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

Source for Provenance information

DIA records

GKS Reference Number: 25683
Record Creation Context

This record was augmented by Natasha Fares on February 12th, 2024. The photographs were removed by Natasha Fares on February 12th, 2024 to respect an agreement between the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Michigan Anishinaabeg Communities of Practice group.

Approximate Place of Origin

45.641407856435, -85.038300569302

Source of Information about Places

Cross Village is identified as the initial site the stirring stick was collected in.

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