War Knife Sheath And Belt

Item number E20643-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.

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Notes

FROM 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "DAGGER.---BLADE OF STEEL; HANDLE OF BONE, ORNAMENTED WITH A CARVED TOTEMIC DESIGN AND INLAID WITH HALIOTIS SHELL. BELOW THE CARVING THE HANDLE IS WRAPPED WITH BUCKSKIN AND HAS ATTACHED A STRIP OF THE SAME MATERIAL WITH A HOLE CUT NEAR THE END TO LET IN THE MIDDLE FINGER, AFTER WHICH THE BUCKSKIN IS TWISTED ABOUT THE WRIST TO SECURE THE WEAPON FIRMLY IN THE HAND, SO THAT THE WARRIOR NEVER PARTS WITH THIS DAGGER UNTIL DEATH. LENGTH, 19 INCHES; LENGTH OF BLADE, 10 1/4 INCHES. BILQULA INDIANS (SALISHAN STOCK), ALASKA. 20,643. COLLECTED BY JAMES G. SWAN." BELLA BELLA AND BELLA COOLA ARE FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA, SO LOCALE CHANGED FROM ALASKA TO BRITISH COLUMBIA.SHEATH IS OF PROBABLE TAHLTAN MANUFACTURE BASED ON ITS STYLE. - MARTHA BLACK, 7 JUN 1994.Ian Reid (Heiltsuk) and Jennifer Kramer (anthropologist) of the delegation from Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Rivers Inlet communities of British Columbia made the following comments during the Recovering Voices Community Research Visit May 20th - 24th, 2013. This knife is made of whale bone and abalone shells. It is not too often you see a Bella Bella knife with this style of carving and this bone handle. A lot of the northern people had this style of carving and this style of leather case and beadwork. It was probably made by the Tlingit and was traded or traveled south. It could have been ceremonial or used for warfare.