Brooklyn Museum Collection

The Pomo bear-doctor and the dagger he carried have left a trail of confusion in scholarly literature. Dr. Hudson, informant to Stewart Culin, Museum’s curator, summarized as follows. Bear men belong to a secret organization with a representative from each tribe. He preyed on the community and if killed another would be elected in his place. The object of the society was to eliminate undesirable people in the tribe. Bear-doctors were said to have carried one or two daggers of this type with the tips sharpened and rubbed on grinding stones.The realistic style of incising, impeccably rendered does indicate artist provenance to William Benson and has been found on other items know to have been made by Benson. Since several of these have been found in Museum collections, all made by Benson, these are clearly "models" made for the non-Native market.

S'abadeb-Seattle Art Museum The fine-grained wood of the western red cedar was worked with few tools, but those that were used were ever efficient, like this straight adze made of elk antler. The carver's toolbox would include several types of adzes, wedges, straight-and crooked-bladed knives, and, later, metal blades, chisels, and saws. Before Natives had access to metal via salvage from oceangoing vessels or trade, adze blades were made from finely sharpened stone, and knives from shell or beaver teeth. The straight adze was employed on the southern Northwest Coast and along the Columbia River. Often there is a human or animal on the butt: here, it might be a mountain goat or an elk.

Large flat leaf-shaped iron blade. Fixed to the blade with compresses of spruce resin are two antler spurs (elk ?) incised with designs of wolf and snake. Also attached, there is a heavy lanyard of twisted sinew (whale or sea-lion) (used to attach head to long line). Engraved with lightning serpent imagery.