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Native Peoples: Northeast-Northwest
Discover the original residents of the Berkshires. See everything from tools, utensils, and weapons to toys and games used in everyday Native American life. Learn about native people in the northeastern woodlands and northwest coast from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Explore the traditions of the Iroquois, Mohican, Haida, and Tlingit nations. Play with instruments, games, and toys.
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Chilkat mantle, circa 1890
Northwest Coast, North American
Collection of the Berkshire Museum
The people of the Northwest Coast used elaborate designs to represent clan symbols and natural forms. Men wore the celebrated Chilkat blanket over sleeved tunics and leggings; women wore it over fiber skirts. Men designed the Chilkat, and women wove them from cedar bark with mountain goat wool.
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Mohican Moccasins, circa 1800-1825
New England
Deerskin, porcupine quill, glass beads, cloth
Collection of the Berkshire Museum
Native Americans wore a soft shoe made from tanned hides of deer, moose, elk, or buffalo sewn together with sinew and lavished with bean and quill work. The word “moccasin” comes from the Algonquian and is recognized universally. Most Native American nations have their own word for the characteristic footwear. Moccasins are different in nearly every tribe.
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Haida Rattle (date unknown)
Northeastern North America
Deer hooves, grass, string.
Gift of Michael S. Engl.
Seasonal ceremonies mark important yearly life cycles. For these ceremonies, Native American people make masks, rattles, drums, and other pieces of astounding beauty.
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