Sewing Equipment Item Number: A2.377 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

White-grey strip of hide with a copper needle pushed through it. Attached to one end of the hide is a thin cord of sinew with a small, flat length of copper tied at its other end. The other end of the hide is attached to a thin, looping cord of sinew that is threaded through a carved, white thimble-like object (part b).

Narrative

Pierce donated this collection to the UBC Geology Museum in 1932, from which it transferred to the newly-opened Museum of Anthropology in 1948. Michell Pierce put together this collection of examples of Copper Inuit clothing and implements, while working in the area for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Before going to the area, he interviewed Dean Brock and M.Y. Williams about the possibility of collecting for UBC while there. This was the second collection he assembled, as the first was lost when the ship carrying the materials was caught in the ice.