Northwest coast Chilkat blanket, two piled yarn of wool fiber and cedar bark. Trapezoid-like shape, side edges of beige weft-faced voven, possibly weft-twined. Upper and lower edges also beige in weft-faced plain weave. Broad bands of medium brown and yellow weft-faced plain weave enclose central dark brown field. Various geometric, stylized face and eye motifs in interlocking and slit tapestry techniques in beige, light yellow, olive green and dark brown on this dark brown field. Long fringes extend from lower edge, where wool yarn covering has worn away to show cedar bark interior in places. The design is the "Diving Whale" design with the head of whale located at bottom near the fringe, tail flukes near the top, side flukes near the head, all with eyes inside. The center body is indicated with a face representing the spitit of the animal. The whale is flaked by young raven designs. Weaving is thought to be problematical and the artist took many innovative liberties. Might not have had enough brown wool so did some basket twining technigues along the top and outlining areas such as the eyes. In one area near trout eyes at the botom weaver had to change brown to another shade and then finaly to green as not enough wool. Very loosely woven over all. Either has two different artist's signatures or again the artist didn't have enough dark brown to even complete the signature.

This thick set, red catlinite pipe is carved so that the actual bowl section, where tobacco would be inserted, is carved with two human faces, one placed facing the smoker and the other at the back of the bowl. Bands of lead are inlaid around the bowl and the short section meant to connect to the stem. There are remnants of where another figure was attached to the topside of the short stem.

Sioux. Beautiful very long pipe stem. Catlin painted people holding these long pipes. Ceremonial use is for agreement meetings, visits and trade.

These hide moccasins are made identically to each other with a floral pattern on the vamp, sides and cuff. The hide cuff is sewn on and has a ribbon edging. The beadwork contains rare solid gold or gold plated beads considered unique and used in the Southeast region which suggests the moccasins are Cherokee in origin. Some historians feel the use of these beads is linked to the 1829 Georgia Gold Rush era. See supplemental file in curator office.

The object is a bow, a bow case, arrows and a quiver. Bow is inlaid with elk antler and decorated with bands of mallard duck neck skin. There is red dyed horsehair tufts at each end. Duck skin is used because for the Sioux the duck appears in all three levels of the world - sky, water and earth. The buffalo hide bow and quiver case has red and black pigment mixed with glue. Even lines of glue are used to create lines around the black triangles. The bow has an elaborate design on the surface created by inlaid sections of elk horn. On either side of the inlaid area is a red painted band, at the ends of which are mallard scalp feathers that have almost disappeared. The bow is backed with white-painted thread. Attached to each end of the bow are red horsehair ornaments. Also attached is a strip of red stroud cloth fastened around the handgrip. The bow case and quiver are made of buffalo hide and have sparsely painted designs. There are five configured designs: two on each side of the bow case and one on the quiver. The designs are made up of elongated diamond shapes divided in half with a small linking section between each repeated triangular part. All parts of the design are delineated with thin impressed lines. The triangles are filled in alternately with dark brown and red color. The small linking section is brown. The intensity of the colors is pale, perhaps from an application of sizing. From the bottom of the bow case hang hide tabs, with pierced decorations.

Stewart Culin collected this side chair in Zuni Pueblo in 1904, calling it an “Ancient kneeling chair." The chair is pieced together from 11 planks and 4 square posts. Its ornamentation is limited to horizontal grooves and soft scalloping on the lower rails. The crest rail displays a series of peaks along its upper edge, apparently cut across previously inscribed horizontal lines. Below the lines is a series of irregularly, squarish gouge holes. The rear stiles' finials are stepped, and their top set-back shows a rough area where a segment may have broken off. The front stiles show grooving and exposed top ends that may have been covered by a forward seat plank. Nails secure the seat planks to the frame, but rails and stiles are joined with open mortise-and-tendon joints. Although Culin interpreted the stepped finials as Indian cloud forms In Spain, Islamic, North African stepped designs were also common forms. Other Hispanic traits include the mortis-and-joint construction and rectangular forming of its members and the use of staining. It has been suggested that it also demonstrates European proportions: about 2/3 vara by 1/2 vara (Spanish yard). If the finials had not broken off it would resemble the scrolled rear stiles of modest Spanish renaissance chairs. Scholar Ramon Gutierrez raises questions regarding its meaning to Pueblo culture. He argues that Franciscans studied and manipulated Pueblo society to establish Christian authority and values and therefore the chair may represent an effort to impose Catholic-Spanish culture on the part of an unwilling native maker. If "always offered" to a guest of Euro-culture the chair may have meant respect for or control of that visitor, depending on the social, political, and gender status of both host and guest within Pueblo culture in the 1800s.

The saddle is constructed as a heavy pad, enclosed within a durable covering of smoked skins. The skins were cut in an hourglass shape and then sewn together with sinew. The pad itself is stuffed with deer of buffalo hair or, possibly grass as a cushion. A large rectangular piece of Stroud cloth, now brown, has been attached across the center of the saddle. It is finished with two lobe-like shapes and edged with white beads. The seams of the pad are edged with multi-colored quillwork in yellow, light blue, lavender, orange, brown, black and white. Black cotton fringe has been attached to the two narrow ends of the saddle. On each of the longer sides are four elongated cloth tabs, red at the center, tan at the edges and beaded with small geometric forms and lines in white, blue and orange. The tabs are trimmed at the bottom with deer hair tufts and interspersed with a fringe of large black, blue and amber glass beads. A cloth rosette decorates each of the four corners of the pad, containing four interconnected lobes that are fashioned in red, blue and black silk and Stroud cloth and ornamented with beads. Below each rosette are appliquéd lozenge forms or pointed ovals, containing two small triangles placed back to back, also edged with white beads. The remnants of what might be stirrup leathers are concealed under the cloth. They are covered by a lighter, softer skin (deer?). The strap remnants seem to be recycled from some other object - - one side has a green, black and red painted design. Some native repair is evident. See Jarvis supplemental file Arts of Americas office.

The sheath is made of a folded piece of rawhide with quill work embroidery along the edge in alternating lengths of red, blue, black and yellow. A piece of soft buckskin is wrapped around the top as a panel or cuff. The added piece is decorated with quillwork; a white field with alternating triangles of blue and black, underlined with orange (formerly red?) arranged in rows. The top and bottom of this cuff are decorated with narrow borders composed of red and white triangles. The entire pattern is outlined with a thin blue line. The narrow borders continue part way around to the back of the sheath, but the quill work pattern does not. Tin cones dangle from the top two corners of the sheath from hide thongs wrapped with red and blue quills and from the bottom of the cuff on thongs wrapped with red quills. These thongs are threaded through the tin cones to form decorative loops that protect their ends. There is a native repair on the reverse side of the sheath.

The object is a basket with an imbricated pattern made from brown bark, yellow bark, and ivory-yellow grass wrapped over cedar root. Imbrication is a regular overlapping arrangement technique that is used exclusively by Native Americans of the Plateau and Northwest Coast areas. The Klikitat maker used a coil technique that is more like sewing than weaving. Coiled baskets are built up spirally from the center and require two components: the first is a central core of rods or grasses serving as a foundation for the second component which is a group of fibers that simultaneously wrap around the foundation and stitch the coils together. An awl creates holes in the foundation through which fibers are pulled or stitched. While sewing is in process, imbrication decoration is also going forward. Imbrication involves wrapping dyed grasses into the basket, forming an overlapping pattern. The basket is in stable condition.

Transformation masks such as this Thunderbird belong to the sky world, which consists of Ancestral Beings that are transported to the heavens from where they can return as material beings in recognizable form such as human. The Kwak waka’ wakw people say when this bird ruffles its feathers they cause thunder and when they blink their eyes lightning flashes. Each thunderbird is associated with a specific village group or lineage, a specific place of origin unique to each and its details are carefully guarded. Masks can be owned individually or by a family but rights are always inherent, flowing from one generation to the next. The Namgis people relate that this thunderbird flew out of the heavens to assist a man who had transformed into a large halibut. When finished assisting he removed his headdress and winged cape and sent them back to the sky world becoming human. The mask may be worn on the forehead with the dancer’s face showing or it may cover the face to indicate the duality of man and bird. The performer wears a full costume of representing the bird. The mask would be danced during a Winter Ceremony, called a Potlatch, where songs, dances and rituals are performed and gifts may be given. When not used such masks are wrapped carefully and hidden away. When worn and danced and closed the mask portrays a bird head with a large yellow beak. When open, the head and large beak divide, expand, and become a full-bodied bird with outstretched wings. Each wing contains a linear image of a sisiutl or lightning snake. At the center of the full-bodied bird is a human head. Above the head is a small seated figure and below it is still another bird. Opening and closing the mask would add a spectacular effect during the dances. When the mask was first collected it had cord riggings to open its parts. It was collected from the Gigilgam lineage of the Nimpkish. The mask is fragile but stable. There are scattered pigment losses. Red cedar ruff originally surrounded the mask when it was worn for performances.