From card: "Recent adaptation of old designs to modern weaving. Designs conventionalized and colored. See Drucker, "Indians of the NW Coast", p. 84, more likely of Salish (rather than Haida) origin." Described on p. 125, cat. entry 90, of Salish Weaving by Paula Gustafson, Univ. of Washington Press, 1980 as: "Fibres: Warp is vegetable fibre; weft is commercial knitting yarn. Colour: Red, yellow, black, green and white. Weave: Twine. History: Blanket. Provenance and collector not known. May be Bella Coola."Karen Anderson (Nuxalk elder), Ian Reid (Heiltsuk), Clyde Tallio (Nuxalk), and Jennifer Kramer (anthropologist) of the delegation from Bella Bella, Bella Coola and Rivers Inlet communities of British Columbia made the following comments during the Recovering Voices Community Research Visit May 20th - 24th, 2013. This object could possibly be a child's cape, used for the salmon ceremony or used as a modern day welcome mat. The border of the cape tells one where you come from, your rank, and where you fit into society. These crescent shapes are frequently associated with Salish, but Bella Coola is know for being a mixture of Northern and Southern styles.

August 29, 1872 letter from Colyer in accession file lists this object as # "14 Indian Cape with bear claw ornaments from Copper River Alaska." Object more resembles an apron/kilt rather than a cape?

FROM CARD: "LOAN: R. H. LOWIE MUSEUM, 12/31/64. LOAN RETURNED FEB 15 1966." FROM OLD 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY EXHIBIT LABEL WITH CARD: "DANCING CAPE.---MADE OF A SINGLE PIECE OF BUCKSKIN AND STAMPED WITH BLACK AND RED PAINT. THE HEAD IS ADMITTED THROUGH THE OPENING AND THE CAPE IS SUSPENDED FROM THE SHOULDERS. ATTACHED IS A FRINGE OF BUCKSKIN. INDIANS OF SITKA, ALASKA, 1876. 20,900. COLLECTED BY JAMES G. SWAN. WORN BY MEDICINE MAN."List in accession file does not identify either a culture or locality for this object. Anthropology catalogue ledger book lists a locality of Sitka, though that might be the place of purchase?

From card: "Made of cedar bark and nettle fibre." From old 19th or early 20th century exhibit label in card file: "Blanket - Made of cedar bark and nettle fiber, closely woven, and ornamented with a border of soft otter fur. Worn about the shoulders as a cloak. Kyoquaht Indians (Wakashan stock), 1888. Collected by Jas. G. Swan." Formerly on exhibit in NHB exhibit Hall 9, case 29, where exhibit label described it as: "cold weather cloak of twined cedar bark and nettle fiber."Twined cedar bark and nettle fiber (according to exhibit label). Wool twisted with cedar woven into all borders. Arc-shape to neck area, and bottom rounded. Very soft otter fur tied to neck area.Listed on page 33 in "The Exhibits of the Smithsonian Institution at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915", in section "Arts of the Western Eskimo".

From card: "10/24/61 Technical description by Miss Grace Rogers, Curator, Div. of Textiles: Construction: gauze or twined weave. Warps were held to top cross bar of loom by a 2 ply, 6 strands to each ply, all cotton yarn. Warps themselves of 2-ply yarn made up of 6 strands of cotton yarn in one ply and 2 strands of animal hair in the second ply (possibly goat). Approximately one warp per inch but closer at the selvages. Weft: narrow twisted strips of bird skins (possibly duck) with down filling the intervening spaces. Approximately 7 strips to 2" at the wide end, and 9 strips to 2" at the narrow end. Basic color is an irregular light tan, with spots of darker, and one long border is white and there is another white stripe near the other border. Lent to the Burke Museum 2/23/89. Loan returned Oct 10, 1989." Illus. (in color, as #1296A) Pl. 4, p. 47 in "A Time of Gathering: native heritage in Washington State", ed. Robin K. Wright, University of Washington Press, 1991.

FROM CARD: "$5.00." FROM SWAN'S HANDWRITTEN LIST IN ACCESSION RECORD: "1 BARK BLANKET MADE FROM THE INNER BARK OF THE WHITE CYPRESS -CUPRESSUS NUTTIATENSIS- BY THE KUYOKUAT INDIANS, A TRIBE RESIDING ON THE WEST COAST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND NORTH OF NOOTKA. ..." - F. PICKERING 6-25-1999

CELLULOSE FIBER SKIRT (OR CAPE) WITH WOVEN SKIN BAND AT TOP. Stored Tlingit.

From card: "The cape is funnel shape with an opening for the head. The two sides are painted in conventionalized figures. Illus. in The Far North catalog, Nat. Gall. of Art, 1973, p. 224." Far North catalog caption identifies as "Mantle with stylized faces; woven cedar bark, with black, green and red pigment.

From card: "Made similarly to bark cloaks."

From card: "Sleeveless jacket of twined rush used as a protection against rain."