Hair Tufting Textile Item Number: 3551/3 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Framed caribou hair tufting of a floral design, on black velvet. Design is inside an oval cutout in the centre of a white cardboard mat. Motif consists of two orange and yellow Newfoundland pitcher plants with fallen petals; curved stems are dark green. Frame has raised edges and the inner edges, around the cardboard mat, are painted gold. Certificate, with maker and design information, is glued to back of wood frame.
Hair tufting was manufactured by The Arctic Trading Company. Certificate on back reads: "Canadian Native Authentic Caribou Hair Flowers- Provincial flower, Nfld pitcher plant. The Barren Land and Woodland Caribou have long roamed the Hudson's Bay region. They have been the source of life for many of the Inuit, Cree and Chipewyans. As well as supplying meat, the antlers were used for tools, weapons and needles. The sinew was the natives' main source of thread and the hide and hair was used to make the warmest, most practical clothing in the world. As a tribute to the native people and to the Caribou of Canada's North, Myrtle DeMeulles, Metis, has created a series of northern flowers made of Caribou Hair sewn to leather and framed under glass. This hand crafted art is our expression of the Native respect for the land. Crafted by Jessie Henderson. Date May 87. Community Oxford House, Ma. For more information on native art, write: The Arctic Trading Company, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada."