Belt Item Number: A2.224 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Thin, hide belt with a row of small fish ear bones (otoliths) sewn down the centre, flanked on both sides by rows of red and white beads. Tusk hook and eye closure.

Narrative

The donor said the objects in his donation should be known as the Hillyard Mitchell collection. Mitchell (1852-1923) spent much of his working life in the Northwest Territories, later moving to Victoria, B.C. The donor also said the collection came from his grandfather, F. Carson, who had gone to Saskatchewan in 1861 as a boy of 15, and stayed until 1918. He was a fur trader and trapper, working mainly amongst the Cree, and was recorded having been at Duck Lake and Prince Albert, Sask. It is now uncertain which objects were collected by Mitchell vs collected by F. Carson.