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23-546: Porcupine quillwork is an art form unique to North America. Before the introduction of glass beads, quillwork was a major decorative element used by the peoples who resided in the porcupine's natural habitat, which included indigenous peoples of the Subarctic , Northeastern Woodlands , and Northern Plains . The use of quills in designs spans from Maine to Alaska . Quillworking tools were discovered in Alberta, Canada and date back to

46-661: A cradle cover. Quills suitable for embellishment are two to three inches long and may be dyed before use. In their natural state, the quills are pale yellow to white with black tips. The tips are usually snipped off before use. Quills readily take dye, which originally was derived from local plants and included a wide spectrum of colors, with black, yellow, and red being the most common. By the 19th century, aniline dyes were available through trade and made dying easier. The quills can be flattened with specific bone tools or by being run through one's teeth. Awls were used to punch holes in hides, and sinew , later replaced by European thread,

69-425: A system where the people are seeking to possess a piece of the knowledge and skill of the crafter in tangible terms, and this creates a heightened value on the imagery itself. The craft is their act of knowledge seeking, and as such, was a sacred act. In this way, the women with more experience gained greater status in the crafting society. The master and apprentice roles were always present in the crafting societies, as

92-415: A vertical line from the bridge of the nose to the forehead and altogether this would resemble the foot of a crow. They would also wear sacred necklaces each time they did quillwork as another form of protection. When a woman would become too old to continue her craft she would have a younger woman become an initiate, generally a relative, so that the craft could be passed on. Being a woman who made quillwork in

115-432: Is a tool with which holes can be punctured in a variety of materials, or existing holes can be enlarged. It is also used for sewing heavy materials, such as leather or canvas. It is a thin, tapered metal shaft, coming to a sharp point, either straight or slightly bent. These shafts are often in the form of interchangeable needles. They usually have an eye piercing at the pointed end to aid in drawing thread through holes for

138-866: Is currently the oldest metal object discovered in the Middle East. Awls were used by the Eastern and Middle Dakota ( Sioux ) and by the peoples of the Red River region , including the Red River Métis, Anishinabe, Plains Cree, and Salteaux. In terms of nomenclature, French Canadian fur traders in the late 18th or early 19th century called one band of the Salish peoples of the American Northwest Coeur d'Alene , meaning "heart of an awl", in reference to their savvy in trading. British traders and later colonists adopted

161-879: The Dene community of Wha Ti, Northwest Territories by the late 1990s. The Dene Cultural Institute held two workshops there in 1999 and 2000, effectively reviving quillwork in Wha Ti. The art form is very much alive today. Examples of contemporary, award-winning quillworkers include Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty , ( Sioux - Assiniboine ) artist; Dorothy Brave Eagle ( Oglala Lakota ) of Denver, Colorado ; Kanatiiosh ( Akwesasne Mohawk ) of St. Regis Mohawk Reservation ; Sarah Hardisty ( Dene ) of Jean Marie River , Northwest Territories; Leonda Fast Buffalo Horse ( Blackfeet ) of Browning, Montana ;, Melissa Peter-Paul , Mi'kmaw of Epekwitk/Prince Edward Island , and Deborah Magee Sherer ( Blackfeet ) of Cut Bank, Montana . Indigenous peoples of

184-507: The babiche bag are made of caribou and deer rawhide. Moosehair embroidery and porcupine quill embroidery are also worked onto hides and birchbark. After introduction by Europeans and Asians, glass beads became popular and are sewn into floral designs. Additionally, some cultures practiced agriculture, alongside hunting and gathering. In the Sami culture of Scandinavia, reindeer husbandry has traditionally played an important role. Traditionally

207-505: The 18th century. This technique lends itself to floral designs popularized among northeastern tribes by Ursuline nuns. Huron women excelled at floral quillwork during the 18th and 19th centuries. Plains quillwork is characterized by bands of rectangles creating geometrical patterns found also in Plains painting. Rosettes of concentric circles of quillwork commonly adorned historical Plains men's shirts, as did parallel panels of quillwork on

230-428: The 6th century CE. Cheyenne oral history , as told by Picking Bones Woman to George Bird Grinnell, says quilling came to their tribe from a man who married a woman, who hid her true identity as a buffalo. His son was also a buffalo. The man visited his wife and son in their buffalo home and while among the buffalo, the man learned the art of quilling, which he shared with the women of his tribe. The crafting society of

253-751: The Blackfoot tribe held major importance as the few women who did quillwork would choose who would become the next to assume the craft of quillwork. After being initiated, the young woman would be expected to craft a moccasin and would then take it and place it on top of a hill as a form of offering to the sun. The Arapaho and Odawa tribes also had religious significance for women in Quillwork as their works would represent sacred beings and connections to nature. Colors and shapes also had unique meanings allowing for diverse and unique designs carrying many cultural or religious meanings. The Odawa tribe in particular used many of

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276-425: The Blackfoot, women doing Quillwork had a religious purpose to it such as wearing special face paint that consisted of yellow ochre and animal fat which would be mixed in the palm of one's hand and then a 'V' marking would be made across the forehead to the nose; This face paint was meant to protect the women who was participating in quillwork and would always be done before doing so. Red paint would then be used to draw

299-735: The Sami lived and worked in reindeer herding groups called siiddat , which consisted of several families and their herds. Members of the siidda helped each other with the management and husbandry of the herds. In Russia , many different indigenous peoples engage in reindeer herding, from European Russia right across to Siberia . One of the largest groups are the Nenets people , who practice nomadic herding, migrating long distances each year (up to 1,000 km annually) between their summer and winter pastures. At present about 13,500 Nenets are engaged with reindeer herding. Stitching awl A stitching awl

322-818: The Subarctic Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic are the aboriginal peoples who live in the Subarctic regions of the Americas, Asia and Europe, located south of the true Arctic at about 50°N to 70°N latitude. This region includes the interior of Alaska , the Western Subarctic or western Canadian Shield and Mackenzie River drainage area, the Eastern Subarctic or Eastern Canadian Shield , and most of Fennoscandia , Northwestern Russia and Siberia . Peoples of subarctic Siberia and Greenland are included in

345-451: The first stitch is then threaded through the loops of successive stitches creating a lock stitch. The action is likened to that of a "miniature sewing machine". Styles may vary, as they are adapted to specific trades, such as making shoes or saddles . They are also used in the printing trades to aid in setting movable type and in bookbinding . A small copper awl from a Tel Tsaf grave in Israel

368-579: The highest esteem was the Quilling Society. The quillers were a select group of elite women. Joining the Cheyenne Quilling Society was a prestigious honor for Cheyenne women. The Cheyenne believe that the highest virtue and aspiration is the seeking of knowledge. Their main spirit or deity is Heammawihio (The Wise One Above) who possesses his power through wisdom. All spirits gain power through their knowledge and their ability to share it with

391-517: The older women would always have more knowledge due to their lifetime of dedication to the craft. Upon entering the Society, women would work first on quilling moccasins , then cradleboards , rosettes for men's shirts and tipis , and ultimately, hide robes and backrests. The Blackfoot Native American tribe in the Northwest region of North America also put much significance on women who did quillwork. For

414-507: The people. The rituals of the crafting societies are structured with a mentor instructing an apprentice in the skills of the craft. The process and ritual that accompanied the production of these crafts (especially quilled crafts) constituted a ceremony of sacred significance. In this way the crafting societies added the additional element of acquired knowledge and experience, which the Cheyenne highly regarded and considered sacred. This would create

437-407: The purpose of manual lockstitch sewing, in which case it is also called a sewing awl. Stitching awls are frequently used by shoe repairers and other leatherworkers. Sewing awls are used to make lock stitches. The needle, with the thread in the eye is pushed through the material. The thread is then pulled through the eye to extend it. As the needle is pushed through the material, the extra thread from

460-568: The same colors as the Blackfoot tribe with the addition of white, yellow, purple, and gold. Porcupine quills often adorned rawhide and tanned hides, but during the 19th century, quilled birch bark boxes were a popular trade item to sell to European-Americans among Eastern and Great Lakes tribes. Quillwork was used to create and decorate a variety of Native American items, including those of daily usage to Native American men and women. These include clothing such as coats and moccasins, accessories such as bags and belts, and furniture attachments such as

483-458: The sleeves. These highly abstracted designs had layers of symbolic meaning. The Red River Ojibwe of Manitoba created crisp, geometric patterns by weaving quills on a loom in the 19th century. Quillwork never died out as a living art form in the Northern Plains. Some communities that had lost their quillwork tradition have been able to revive the art form. For instance, no women quilled in

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506-663: The subarctic; however, Greenlandic Inuit are usually classified as Indigenous peoples of the Arctic . Native subarctic peoples have over 38 languages into five major language families: Algonquian , Athapaskan , Indo-European , Turkic and Uralic . The reindeer Tangifer tarandus (caribou in North America) and deer have traditionally played a central role in North American and Asian Subarctic culture, providing food, clothing, shelter, and tools. In North America, items such as

529-412: Was used to bind the quills to the hides. The four most common techniques for quillwork are appliqué , embroidery , wrapping, and loom weaving. Appliquéd quills are stitched into hide in a manner that covers the stitches. In wrapping, a single quill may be wrapped upon itself or two quills may be intertwined. Quills can be appliquéd singly to form curvilinear patterns, as found on Odawa pouches from

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