The bear grass is red, black, and natural.

The dye is green, purple, and blue.

Late 1800s; Judge Wickersham Collection

« The mouth is closed by a wooden plug (fig. 5i). A grease container made from the bladder sac of an otter was for cold bear grease that hunters carried with them to add to their food. The drinking of animal grease was also believed to induce dreaming and was thus an important element in the practice of magic (Speck, 1935, pp. 180-181). This specimen is in very poor condition and its original size and shape cannot be determined. » 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.10.

« The consulting of oracles so as to determine where and when to hunt and to know the future with reference to the weather, illness, and personal matters was extremely important to the Lake St. John Montagnais. It is a subject that has been discussed in considerable detail by Speck (1935, pp. 138-147). A more recent discussion of the subject, with a different interpretation, is found in Tanner (1979, ch. 6). » 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.19. « Placation of the spirits of game animals was also an important element in Montagnais religion. The collection contains two black bear skulls, one of which is lashed to a piece of wood with narrow strips of caribou skin (fig. 26d). In the Lake St. John area, as well as elsewhere among the Montagnais-Naskapi, the skulls of slain bears were placed in trees. The animals were believed to derive spiritual satisfaction from this procedure and Speck (1935, pp. 102-103, pi. 7) notes that it may be a form of tree burial in which bears, like people, are recognized as being immortal. » 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.20, fig 26d (p.54).

« The consulting of oracles so as to determine where and when to hunt and to know the future with reference to the weather, illness, and personal matters was extremely important to the Lake St. John Montagnais. It is a subject that has been discussed in considerable detail by Speck (1935, pp. 138-147). A more recent discussion of the subject, with a different interpretation, is found in Tanner (1979, ch. 6). » 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.19. « Placation of the spirits of game animals was also an important element in Montagnais religion. The collection contains two black bear skulls, one of which is lashed to a piece of wood with narrow strips of caribou skin (fig. 26d). In the Lake St. John area, as well as elsewhere among the Montagnais-Naskapi, the skulls of slain bears were placed in trees. The animals were believed to derive spiritual satisfaction from this procedure and Speck (1935, pp. 102-103, pi. 7) notes that it may be a form of tree burial in which bears, like people, are recognized as being immortal. »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.20, fig 26d (p.54).

« The consulting of oracles so as to determine where and when to hunt and to know the future with reference to the weather, illness, and personal matters was extremely important to the Lake St. John Montagnais. It is a subject that has been discussed in considerable detail by Speck (1935, pp. 138-147). A more recent discussion of the subject, with a different interpretation, is found in Tanner (1979, ch. 6). » 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.19. « Also associated with respect for a bear's spirit is the removal of an animal's tongue sinew which was taken from the carcass by the killer. To do so was believed not only to placate the bear's spirit, but to be a way of announcing the killing of the animal to the hunter's family without mentioning it by name. » 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.20.