From card: "Gift of Edward Namegus, 1932, who had inherited it from his grandfather. Oblong black velvet and sateen on opposite side of a semi-stiff inside, beaded around edge in red and green. Most of front covered with large solid, hour-glass shaped design in white and a few blue beads, and square arch at top in same colors. Small floral spray in pink beads at each side. Supposed to be Thunder-bird design, gotten from a dream, very sacred, kept hidden, worn around neck (by a ribbon) mainly in bear hunting."

Small, rectangular, tanned-hide bag with fringe and beaded flowers and leaves in green, red, blue, yellow, and orchid. Spot stitch technique used for attaching beads. Surface wear.

« The collection contains a heavy spear for killing caribou in the water, presumably from a canoe. The point, made of moose antler and with a single large barb, tapers toward the proximal end which is inserted into a hole in the long wooden shaft. At the distal end the shaft is split slightly and notched to receive strips of moose hide lashing which extend up onto and around the proximal end of the point (fig.2). Shorter, lighter versions of this spear were used for taking beaver and the collection contains the shaft of a model beaver spear; the point is missing. The shaft is round and 60.2 cm in length with a slit in the distal end into which the point would have been fitted. Narrow creases in the wood indicate that the point was held in place with sinew. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.6, fig 2 (p.30).

« The manufacture of woven hare skin blankets by Indians of the Mistassini and Lake St. John bands is described in detail by Speck (1930, pp. 451-454), Lips (1947, pp. 42, 44), and Rogers (1967, p. 64, fig. 8, p. 40). Speck (1930, p. 454) notes that 100 skins were required for a blanket, while Rogers (1967, p. 64) states that a large blanket to be used by three people might comprise twice that many skins. These blankets were woven of narrow, twisted strips of hare skin on a three-pole frame by a coil netting technique in which the strip of skin was conveyed by a wooden or bone needle. The Speck collection contains two examples. The smaller, in poor condition, measures approximately 165 by 145 cm. The larger measures 220 by 152 cm and has short cloth ties at the four corners. It may have been worn as a robe. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.17.