Gift of Appleton Sturgis

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Anonymous gift in memory of Dr. Harlow Brooks

The Sioux gun stock club (bottom in photograph) is made of red pipestone too brittle to use for battle. It may have been used in ceremonies since the lead inlays represent potent images; the sun, a bison, a deer, a thunderbird, hearts and arrows. Alternatively, it may have been made for sale. The reverse side at one time also had lead inlays and shows markings that may be more related to astrological signs, half moons, stars and crossed diamonds.

Henry L. Batterman Fund

Dick S. Ramsay Fund

Group of eleven arrows painted with black and red stripes and dots. Ten arrows have metal points.

This is a beaded, hide band with clear, black, pink, yellow, blue and red beads. An old tag indicates this belonged to Sitting Bull and collected around 1914.

Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund

This (steel?) knife blade is known as a beaver tail stabber, Hudson's Bay dag or hand dag, with the later appellation appearing in trade accounts. It is a flat, triangular, spear shape joined to the handle with two copper rivets. The blade has no commercial markings. The handle is bone that is etched along the sides possibly with a tally of sorts made by the owner. The shape of the handle is nicely rounded at the grip to fit the palm comfortably and the butt acts as a guard to protect the hand from the blade. There is a third rivet at the end of the bone handle.The name 'scapling" is probably inaccurate . This hide sheath does not fit this dag knife and was probably made to fit a curved, commercial knife. The top edge of the sheath is decorated with a pattern of small quills. Threes crosses decorate a field of white quillwork on the panel. The cross at center is built around a light yellow square at center with dark brown arms. The two crosses on the right and left are pale blue squares at center with dark brown arms. On the edges of the panels, a small strip of red cloth, probably ribbon, is tied to the sheath's loop and two smaller loops with orange and white quillwork are attached. A border of tin cones stuffed with red dyed cloth is suspended from the panel. The streamers have remnants of wrappings with orange quillwork and decorated with additional cones. White quills along the seam and at the top of the knife sheath are applied as overcast stitches.