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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

THE THUNDERBIRD AND UNDERWATER PANTHER
IN THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE GREAT LAKES
INDIANS: SYMBOLS OF POWER

presented by

Marie A. Gile

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Master of Arts (mgeehIClothing & Textiles

V
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Date W5

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MSU In An Affinn‘L AdlmlEqunl Opponunlly Inflation
Wm;

THE THUNDERBIRD AND UNDERWATER PANTHER
IN THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE GREAT IAKES INDIANS:
SYMBOLS OF POWER

By
Marie A. Gile

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Human Environment and Design

1995

ABSTRACT

THE THUNDERBIRD AND UNDERWATER PANTHER
IN THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE GREAT LAKES INDIANS:
SYMBOLS OF POWER

By
Marie A. Gile

Symbols/images of the thunderbird and the underwater panther within
the material culture of the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi were investigated
from pre-contact to contemporary times to determine possible changes in
form and meaning. Additionally the human ecological concept of part and
whole was explored in relation to these images.

A search of primary documents, artifactual and photographic sources,
and interviews with Anishnabeg artists and elders yielded information that
was analyzed for changes over time and related to concurrent cultural
influences. The study concludes that these two images have been expressed in
a variety of material culture and yet remain a traditional cultural expression.
Certain elements of each image remain uniform over time, although the
medium employed may somewhat change its form. Meanings about these
symbols are varied, yet a generally consistent view about the nature of each
remains. Part and whole analysis reveals a continuing Anishnabeg world

view that all life, at all levels, is connected in one unified totality.

Copyright by
MARIE A. GILE
1995

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to the committee

members for their encouragement, wisdom, and guidance throughout this

study.
Dr. Sally I. Helvenston - Major area Professor
Dr. M. Suzanne Sontag - Major area Professor
Dr. C. Kurt Dewhurst - Minor area Professor

I would also like to thank Dr. Charles E. Cleland, Dr. James M. McClurken,
and Dr. George L. Cornell for their suggestions and insights, and fellow
graduate student iaurie Anderson for her help and support. My appreciation
is extended to the museums I visited, for providing the opportunity to research
in their collections, and for the helpful assistance of their staff. I also wish to
thank each of the Anishnabeg who so graciously gave of his or her time. And
a very special thanks is given to my husband, Harvey, for his continued

assistance and encouragement.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... viii
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1
CHAPTER 2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND METHODOLOGY ................................. 5
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................... 5
Objectives ............................................................................................................... 6
Research Methods ................................................................................................. 8
Data from Written Sources ...................................................................... 9
Data through Artifact Study ................................................................... 9
Data Collected through Interviews ...................................................... 20
Analytical Model for Artifact Study ................................................................ 22
Human Ecological Construct: Part-Whole Relationships ........................... 26
Part-Whole Analysis Outline ............................... ' ................................. 28
CHAPTER 3. THE GREAT LAKES INDIANS ..................................................................... 33
Early History and Culture .................................................................................. 33
Life after Contact with European Cultures .................................................... 36
World View of the Great Lakes Indian ............................................................ 38
Social and Spiritual Relationships .................................................................. 40
The Concept of Power ......................................................................................... 43
The Vision Quest ...................................................................................... 44
Midewiwin Society .................................................................................. 46
Anishnabeg World View Conceptions ............................................................. 50
The Three Fires ....................................................................................... Sl
Menomini ................................................................................................. 54
CHAPTER 4. THUNDERBIRD AND UNDERWATER PANTHER. ...................................... S8
Cosmological Place of the Thunderbird and the Underwater

Panther .................................................................... S8

Aspects and Characteristics of the Thunderbird and the Underwater
Panther ..................................................................................................... 61
Images as Symbols .............................................................................................. 69
The Thunderbird and the Underwater Panther as Symbols ....................... 74

Contemporary Interpretations of the Thunderbird and the

Underwater Panther .............................................................................. 77
The Thunderbird and the Underwater Panther as Found in
Material Culture ...................................................................................... 87
Pre-Contact Period - Before 16303 ....................................................... 88
The Period Following Contact with European Cultures ................... 94
Objects from the Period 1780 to 1829 ................................................... 94
Objects from the Period 1830 to 1879 ................................................... 97
Objects from the Period 1880 to 1929 ................................................. 103
Objects from the Period 1930 to 1969 ................................................. 109
Contemporary Images from 1970 to Present ................................... 114
A Detailed Analysis Using the Revised Smith Model ...................... 122
Materials and Construction ..................................................... 123
Function ..................................................................................... 132
Provenance ................................................................................ 133
CHAPTER 5. PART AND WHOLE RELATIONSHIPS ...................................................... 135
Exploring the Concept ..................................................................................... 13S
Exploring the Evidence ................................................................................... 147
Exploring Part and Whole Relationships through Analysis
of Artifacts and Stories ........................................................................ 151
An Overview about Layers of Meaning ............................................ 151
Analysis of an Artifact ........................................................................ 156
Analysis of a Story ................................................................................ 160
Analysis of Contemporary Images .................................................... 162
Results of Analysis ............................................................................... 165
CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .............................................................. 167
Summary of the Study ........................................................ - .............................. 167
Recommendations for Future Studies ........................................................... 173
EPILOGUE ........................................................................................................................ 175
GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................... 177
APPENDIX A: RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS .................................................................... 179
APPENDIX B: SELECTED STORIES, FOLKTALFS AND MYTHS ..................................... 186
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 206

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
Table 1. Museums, Collections, and Sites Visited ...................................................... 10
Table 2. location of Artifacts and Published Sources Examined ........................... 11
Table 3. listing of Artifacts Examined by Type ........................................................ 12
Table 4. Interviewees Consulted in the Study ........................................................... 21
Table 5. Analysis of Artifacts Across Time Periods .................................................. 94
Table 6. Sets and Subsets Used to Compare Images ............. ................................... 147

vii

Figure

Fig. 1(a).
Fig. 1(b).
Fig.

Fig.

2.
3.

Fig. 4.

Fig 5.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.
Fig.

6(a).

6(b).

8(a).

8(b).

9(a).

9(b).

10.

ll.

12.
13.

LIST OF FIGURES

Page
Diagram of the revised Smith artifact study model .......................... 25
Glassie's "Individual-Centered" diagram ............................................ 26
Ottawa quilled skin pouch, #NMMIII-M-l ......................................... 29
Map of Great Lakes region about 1800, noting tribal locations ..... 35
A Mide' birchbark scroll ....................................................................... 50
Circular world view of the universe ("circle of life") sketched
on birchbark, with Midewiwin lodge in central portion ............... 52
Cradleboard decoration with thunderbirds ....................................... 65
Potawatomi twined panel bag ............................................................... 66
"The Lovers", acrylic painting by Peter Migwans ........................... 80
Birchbark box quilled in natural porcupine quills by
Yvonne Walker Keshick ........................................................................ 81
Watercolor and ink painting of a thunderbird hatching,
by Army Hubbard ................................................................................... 81
Acrylic painting, "Lake Superior Serpent #2", by
Peter Wigwans ......................................................................................... 84
Acrylic painting, "Gitche Gumme Underwater Panther",
by Peter Wigwans ................................................................................... 84
Shale discs from sites near Thunder Bay, Alpena, Michigan
from the late Woodland period (A.D. 1300-1450) .............................. 89
Black-dyed skin pouch with quillwork, c. 1800,
#NMMIII-G-829 ....................................................................................... 91
Ojibwa cotton woven bag, c. 1870 ......................................................... 92

Two views of the pictograph of Mishipishiew, photographed

viii

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

Fig.
Fig.

Fig.
Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

Fig.

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

14.
15(a).
5(b).
16.

17.
18.

19.
20.

21(a/b).

22(a).

22(b/C).

23.

24(a).
24(b).
25.
26(a).
26(b).
27.

28(a).
28(b).
29.
30.

at Agawa Rock, Ontario, Canada ........................................................... 93

Quilled deerskin Mide' robe .................................................................. 96
Chief Shoppenagon, wife, and child ................................................... 98
Beaded garter belonging to Chief Shoppenagon, #22 ..................... 98
Lyford's illustrations of thunderbird images found on

birchbark scrolls ................................................................................. 100
Beaded bandolier bag ........................................................................... 100
Illustrations of "very old thunderbird design" by Lyford,

writing in 1943 ...................................................................................... 101
Potawatomi beaded garter, #21 .......................................................... 102
Lyford's examples of thunderbird and panther images

found on nettle fiber bags .................................................................. 103
Agnes Tipkey's waistband and enlargement of the

thunderbird image ............................................................................... 106
Potawatomi beaded bandolier bag and detail of the

thunderbird ........................................................................................... 107
Photographs taken in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1897

showing a Potawatomi bandolier bag being worn ......................... 108
(billed birchbark box (top showing) with thunderbird

and flowers ............................................................................................ 110
Beaded thunderbird earrings by Barbara Tazelaar ....................... 111
A 19908 Chinese barrette ..................................................................... 111
Portion of a quilt by Alice Fox, 1990 .................................................. 11 1
Beaded medallion necklace by Lewis Pontiac ................................. 112
Beaded Ojibwa sash .............................................................................. 113
Photograph of an Ottawa Indian Princess taken at

Harbor Springs, Michigan in 1951, #145 ......................................... 115
Painting entitled "Thunderbird" by Norval Morrisseau ............... 116
Painting entitled "Misshipeshu" by Norval Morrisseau ............... 116
Ottawa pouch from the 17808 .............................................................. 117
"Mishi Mishoo" by David Dutcher ...................................................... 117

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

31.
32.
33.
34.
35.

36(a).
36(b).
37.

38.
39(a/b).

40.
41.
42.
43.

"Look Before You Leap" by Anny Hubbard ..................................... 119

"Misshipeshu" by N. Morrisseau, c. 1970 ......................................... 119
Beaded coin purse by Veronica High ................................................ 120
Pow-Wow dancers in regalia .............................................................. 121

Photograph of Ojibwa Rev. Peter Jones taken in England

on Aug. 4, 1845 ....................................................................................... 129
Ottawa rush mat, with thunderbirds ................................................. 137
Quilt with thunderbirds by Alice Fox, 1987 ...................................... 138
Drum of wood and deerskin, c. 1840 .................................................. 140
Ottawa skin pouch, #NMMIII-M-Z...... ............................................... 141
Diagram and illustration of Midewigan of the

first degree ............................................................................................ 146
Yin yang symbol (also referred to as Tai Chi) ................................ 156
Twined fiber panel bag ....................................................................... 157
Lyford's examples of panther images etched on birchbark ........ 160

"lady Transforming into a Thunderbird,"
by Army Hubbard ................................................................................. 165

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Things can have meanings that may transform the very world in

which we live. But things by themselves alone cannot help us; only

in the way we relate to them is their symbolic energy released.
(Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton, 1981, p. 247)

Native American cultures have a wealth of varied traditions as
evidenced in part by their material culture. Each culture has not only a
distinct lifestyle, but identifiable and uniquely individual artifacts, which can
distinguish one group from another throughout the United States. When one
familiar with Native Americans of the Southwest sees a kachina doll, for
example, it is immediately associated with the Hopi. Yet, the kachina is more
than a doll: It symbolizes a spirit or a certain attribute of a spirit. Therefore, it
is imbued with very specific meaning. Similarly, Navajo rugs and their
striking geometric designs are also distinct. The designs of Navajo rugs are
representations or symbols of meanings, known to the maker, the local
community, and to its culture as a whole.

What do the symbols mean? How does the symbol express meaning?
What role does it play within a culture? In his discussion of symbol and
meaning in art, David Penney (1992) says:

Content, or meaning, stems from the communicative capacity of art
as a symbolic system. Art, like language, functions as a tool of thought

2

and a system for its expression. Artistic expressions objectify the
subjective experience so that it becomes cultural, and can be shared
within the social network. The analysis of art as a symbolic system deals
with the notion of 'meaning.‘ (pg. 26)

The object itself, beyond its artistic function, carries many layers of
meaning. Each object may be thought of as a total entity to its viewer. Yet the
object and its symbolic meaning are only a part of a larger symbolic system.
This larger system embodies a person's (or a culture's) world view. Symbols, as
used within these systems, may be considered communicators, connectors, or
links, between the various parts.

This study investigates the ways in which the symbol, as associated with
artifacts, "objectif[ies] the subjective experience." Specifically, it examines
types of meanings or symbolic systems that an object may embody, and the
ways in which they are expressed. Two images used by three Great Lakes
Indian tribes are examined across time, into the present, through artifactual
analysis, as well as through interviews with individuals from the tribes. The
human ecological concept of part and whole relationships helps to organize
the analysis.

Two images chosen for study are the thunderbird and the underwater
panther, symbols long associated with the Great Lakes Indians. As a part of a
symbolic system or world view, these images appear to represent a wealth of
various spiritual and social meanings. They are found not only in natural
settings, but are incorporated into items such as apparel and accessories, into
other items used in ceremonies and rituals, as well as those for household and
military purposes.

Encountering the striking images of the thunderbird and underwater
panther in art books, as well as archaeological and ethnographic sources, one

becomes intrigued with what they might mean and what they represent to

those within their culture. As this viewer was entranced, surely they must
have entranced other observers, and must have symbolized the maker's
sources of inspiration on more than one level. So I began to search further.
Many examples that I found seemed to direct me toward their use within a
spiritual context. I was particularly interested in seeking out their use in
apparel and textiles. I was additionally drawn to the idea of how material
culture relates to holism and human ecological concepts, as well as spiritual
considerations.

As I searched for information on these motifs I found that few studies
have dealt with Native American symbols, particularly as related to dress in
the Great lakes region. Of those researching Great Lakes Indian dress,
Beverly Gordon (1992) has examined the bandolier bag as a cultural symbol.
Rachael Pannabaker (1990) has studied Indian ribbonwork, linlzing
anthropological and historical research to clothing and textiles. Feather and
Sibley (1979) examined three groups of clothing items to explore European
influence on native clothing; they suggest that the study of Native American
apparel and their motifs are "overlooked pages of North American clothing
history" (p.73). Ulrich (1991) further speaks of the neglect of the general
historian in seriously considering clothing and household textiles as
significant in research, especially when explored as cultural symbols.

Other closely related fields of researchers also have addressed the
subject. There is ethnographic information about these symbols from sources
such as Carrie Lyford's ijbway Crafts, published in 1943, and W. J. Hoffman's
(1886) "Midewiwin of the Ojibwa." Hoffman, writing in the late nineteenth
century, has provided details based on his research of the Ojibwa Midewiwin

Society in the 18803. Additionally, at the turn of the century, some

anthropological research by Chamberlain (1890) and Jones (1905) add to our
understanding.

The images under study have been documented within specific artifact
types such as woven bags, birchbark scrolls, prehistoric discs, and effigy
mounds by other scholars. Archaeologist Charles Cleland (1985) (and earlier
with Richard Clute and Robert Haltiner in 1984) presents an in-depth analysis
of the only dated pre-European contact artifacts found in Michigan containing
these images. Art historians such as Penney (1989, 1992), Phillips (1985, 1989),
Wilson (1982), and Brasser (1976) have analyzed the thunderbird and
underwater panther on historic textiles and other material culture, depicting
them as primarily representing opposing forces constantly at war with each
other.

The main problem with these studies is that they have not looked into
the present day material culture to investigate the presence of these images.
The documentation of these images, and their change over time, as well as the
recording of possible past and present meanings to the peoples of the tribes,
primarily, of the Three Fires of Michigan—the Ottawa, Ojibwa, and the
Potawatomi-is an important endeavor, especially as it is hoped that the
process and the results will provide the opportunity for greater understanding
among cultures.

In summary, this study is an investigation of the Great Lakes Indian
motifs of the thunderbird and underwater panther, linking contemporary
images with those of pre-contact times. An integral aspect of this study is to
uncover the viewpoint of the Native American, through interviews, regarding
these images. An additional aim of the study is an exploration of the human

ecological concept of part and whole relationships.

CHAPTER 2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND METHODOLOGY

Statement of the Problem

My interest in material culture (especially apparel and textiles),
anthropology, and Native American cultures led to a study of the Great lakes
Indian tribes through various literary sources. During this study, I became
aware of two images--the thunderbird and the underwater panther-—which
seemed to be important to these peoples from very early times. They were
evident in various pre-contact and historic artifacts.

Through the centuries, these images have appeared not only in
artifacts, but are found in the Native American folklore of the Great lakes
region. Multiple meanings are irnbedded within the stories and these images.
They are, I believe, important as indicators of social and cultural attitudes and
values; yet my review of the literature (which is integrated throughout
because of the artifact model chosen) has not uncovered an analysis of these
two images over time. The documentation of these images as they are used
today is vitally important in preserving present social and spiritual beliefs, as
well as lending a perspective on attitudes about the past. For these reasons, I
wished to explore the symbols of the thunderbird and the underwater panther
in the past and present material culture of the Michigan Great lakes tribes

known as the Three Fires.

6

The sample of artifacts selected represents the period primarily from
post-European contact in the late eighteenth century to the present day, with
the objective of determining the changes in and possible meanings of these
symbols. The motifs as found in artifacts of the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potowatomi
were documented, with research being concentrated in Michigan. Some
artifacts of these tribes from those areas surrounding the perimeters of the
Great lakes are also included, as well as a few objects of the Menomini of
Wisconsin (for comparative purposes), as there was a tremendous amount of
movement around the Great lakes by these groups, particularly during the

period directly following European contact and earlier.

Objectives

The objectives of this study were:

1. to examine and document the material culture of the Great lakes

Indians (the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi) which contain images of the

thunderbird and underwater panther.

2. to determine when changes in form and function of these images
occurred.

3. to analyze these changes in relation to cultural influences.

4. to explore the human ecological concept of part and whole

relationships as related to the Great lakes Indians' use of these images in their

material culture.

Some questions for consideration are:

7

0 What are the possible meanings of the symbols of the thunderbird and
underwater panther in the past cultural context of these societies?

0 Are these meanings consistent over time?

0 What types of artifacts contained these images, and what role did the
artifact have in conveying meaning?

0 From the time of contact with Europeans, do we have evidence of
changes in the images due to acculturation? Because of the social upheaval
and disruption of the Native American's way of life with the arrival of
European peoples, were symbols/images lost? Did the images of the
thunderbird and underwater panther fall into disuse when a new world view
was presented to these indigenous peoples based on different values and
religious outlooks held by Euro-Americans?

0 What are the meanings of these symbols today?

The following strategies were developed to seek answers to these

questions:

0 A review of previously published research and an examination of
stories and myths was conducted.

0 Ethnographic and anthropological sources were consulted to
determine possible usages of these symbols over time. Interviews with people
of Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi heritage were carried out to elicit
information about meaning. Comparisons were then made with the written
sources.

0 An examination of artifacts and photographs of artifacts was

conducted, with the assistance of an artifact analysis data form.

8
0 Data from the artifact form and details of the photographs taken of
objects were examined for changes due to acculturation, as was the data
collected through individual interviews.
0 Through interviews, the meanings of these symbols today were

explored, as well as knowledge of past meanings.

Research Methods

This study is multidisciplinary, using perspectives from human ecology,
ethnography, history, art history, anthropology and archaeology, as well as
religion and folklore. This approach has led to a more complete picture of the
lives and culture of the Great lakes Indians and their use of the thunderbird
and underwater panther as symbols.

A major consideration in examining these two images was to determine
their possible meaning over time. To accomplish this, I employed an
overriding theoretical concept, the human ecological construct of part and
whole relationships. Artifact analysis within this construct was important
because it provided a way to go beyond description to an interpretation of the
meaning of the objects. As Schlereth (1982) emphasizes, "the crucial task . . .
for contemporary material culturalists . . . [is] to expand the emphasis of the
discipline from the description of artifacts to the interpretation of them" (p.
33). With this in mind, a framework for artifact analysis, coupled within a

multidisciplinary approach, provided the basis for analysis and interpretation.

9

Data from Written Sources

Historical information was gathered through a range of primary and
secondary sources, including histories and journals, as well as ethnographic,
anthropological, and art historical studies located in various libraries at
Michigan State University, East lansing, Michigan (including the Main
Library, Special Collections in the Main Library, and the Human Ecology
Reference Library), and the State Library of Michigan, lansing, Michigan.
Some references were obtained through the University Library's Interlibrary
Loan Division. References chosen were based on sources located by subject
matter in the library on-Iine index, as well as those mentioned in scholarly
bibliographies, and from references located in journal indexes.

At the outset of the study, it became apparent that myths and stories
would provide information about the thunderbird and underwater panther.
Therefore, as the literature was reviewed, examples of stories and myths were
sought in order to explore a wide range of sources for meanings attributed to
these symbols. Often stories were located in histories and ethnographic
sources. Stories also were sought from those interviewed. The collection of
stories and myths does not represent an exhaustive search, but was used to

help provide information for this study.

Data through Artifact Study

hi order to determine the range of types of material culture containing
the two images, a survey of artifacts was conducted. A letter was sent to

museums/collections in Michigan which were thought to have Native

American artifacts, based on information in The Official Museum Directory

10
1220. In addition, thesis committee members offered useful information. The
letter included a questionnaire and a self-addressed return envelope (see
Appendix A for a sample letter and copy of the questionnaire). A postcard was
sent five weeks later to those museums which had not returned the
questionnaire, followed a week later by a phone call if no further information
had been received. Of the 32 collections contacted, 11 indicated that they had
possible objects bearing these images. Arrangements were made to visit and
document relevant artifacts at each one. Additionally, a state and provincial
park and the Nokomis Learning Center were visited. See Table 1 for a listing of
museums visited. It was not always possible to see or examine the entire
collection, due to administrative constraints, items on display, or artifacts
which were in storage. Those examined were documented on the artifact form
(see Appendix A, Artifact Study Worksheet), photographed, and historical data
requested, if available. It was hoped that the study would uncover a greater

number of previously unpublished objects with these images.

e . 11 cu s ollectio d Sites V'site
o seum Institu ion or Collection - Address

Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Central Michigan University Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
Charlton Park Museum Hastings, Michigan
Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit, Michigan
Jesse Besser Museum Alpena, Michigan
Lake Superior Provincial Park Wawa, Ontario, Canada

Michigan Department of State,
Michigan Historical Center, Office

of the State Archaeologist Lansing, Michigan
Michigan Historical Museum Lansing, Michigan
Michigan State Archives Lansing, Michigan
Michigan State University Museum East lansing, Michigan
Nokomis Learning Center Okemos, Michigan
Public Museum of Grand Rapids Grand Rapids, Michigan

Sanilac Petroglyphs State Park
(Micigan Historical Museum) Sanilac, Michigan

11

Table 1 (cont'd).

University of Michigan, Museum

of Anthropology

Ann Arbor, Michigan

To provide a larger sample for data collection, images of published

artifacts also were examined and documented. These included sources

published by Brasser (1976), Penney (1989, 1991, 1992), Phillips (1984), Wilson

(1982), and others. The sample examined, from both museum and published

sources--16S artifacts-encompasses a wide range of material culture from the

past to present day, including seven pre-contact artifact types and nine that

are indicative of commercially produced objects today. Due to the nature of

artifact collection, as well as the period of time covered, obtaining a truly

representative sample of all artifacts produced by these tribes was not

possible. This sample represents what was available to the researcher.

In the tables below, Table 2 presents the location and published sources

of the artifacts in the sample, while Table 3 lists the artifacts examined.

 

 

f ts bl ed Sou c s e
When Name Axum
AMNH American Museum of Natural History New York City, NY
CIS Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills, MI
CMU Central Michigan University Mt. Pleasant, Ml
CPM Charlton Park Museum Hastings, Ml
DIA Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit, MI
FIA Flint Institute of Arts Flint, MI
FMNH Field Museum of Natural History Chicago, IL
HFW Historic Fort Wayne Detroit, MI
HSHC Harbor Springs Historical Commission Harbor Springs, MI
JBM Jesse Besser Museum Alpena, MI
MG Collection of Marie Gile lansing, Ml
LM Liverpool Museum Liverpool,England
LSPP lake Superior Provincial Park Wawa, Ontario,

Canada

McC McCord Museum Montreal, Quebec,

Canada

12

Table 2 (cont'd).

 

MDS Michigan Department of State,
Michigan Historical Center, Office
of the State Archaeologist Lansing, Michigan
MGR Public Museum of Grand Rapids Grand Rapids, MI
MHM Michigan Historical Museum Lansing, MI
MSA Michigan State Archives lansing, Ml
MSUM Michigan State University Museum East lansing, Ml
NLC Nokomis Learning Center Okemos, MI
NMAI National Museum of the American Indian New York City, NY
NMI National Museum of Ireland Dublin, Ireland
NMM National Museum of Man Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
RMP Collection of Richard & Marion Pohrt
ROM Royal Ontario Museum Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
SD Collection of Selwyn Dewdney
SHSW State Historical Society of Wisconsin Madison, WI
SPSP Sanilac Petroglyphs State Park Sanilac, MI
Publish ed Sources
AGLI Flint Institute of Arts, Art of the Great lakes Indians
BIO Harbor Springs Historical Commission, Beadwozk Q Textiles of the
Ottawa
LL) Hoffman, Midewiwin of the Ojibwa. U. 8. Bureau of Ethnology
Seventh Annual Renont 1885-1888
NA_I Fleming & Luskey, No Am 'ca dians ' Earl P oto a s
g Coe, Sacged Circles
ELEM Skinner, Social Life and Ceremonial Bundles of the Menomini
Indians. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum
of Natural Histog 1_3
l . ' tin of Artifact Examined b T e
Ma Catalogue No. Dag Musuem/ Source
jljnibe/ Region/ Artist
ss 'es
1. Bag, bandolier, beaded 1954.1544 c. 1830 SHSW
Chippewa
2. Bag, bandolier, beaded 1988.28 1830-50 DIA
Ottawa or Chippewa
3. Bag, bandolier, beaded 133 19th century g
Ottawa or Ojibwa (18403?)
4. Bag, bandolier, beaded 120186 c. 1850 MGR

 

Chippewa

13

Table 3 (cont'd).

5. Bag, bandolier, beaded

Chippewa

6. Bag, bandolier, beaded

Chippewa

7. Bag, bandolier, beaded

Chippewa

8. Bag, bandolier, beaded

Potawatomi

9. Bag, bandolier, beaded

10.
ll.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

Chippewa

Bag, bandolier, beaded
Chippewa

Bag, bandolier, beaded
Potawatomi

Bag, bandolier, beaded
Great lakes

Belt, bark, quill-wrapped
Western Gr. Lakes

Belt, beaded Ojibwa-type

Choker, man's, beaded
with incised shell gorget
Potawatomi

Earrings, beaded
Ojibwa

Garter, wool & beads
Ottawa

Garter, wool 8: beads
Chippewa

Garter, yarn, beaded
Chippewa?

Garter, yarn, beaded
Chippewa?

Garter, wool 8: beads
Potawatomi

Garter, yarn & beads
Chippewa

Headband, man's beaded
Ottawa

Headband, beaded
Potawatomi?

Moccasins
Potawatomi-type

Moccasins
Ojibwa?

Moccasins
Chippewa-type

Necklace, medallion, bead
Ojibwa

Necklace, bead
Ojibwa

81.78
3026
153(1)

1 17089
81.297
228
81.467
90.77.35
1902.348
H82.268
23/9335

81.63

81.281 a & b
238

240

81.312

251

1902.345
7435

c. 1850
1860

1880

c. 1880
c.1885

c. 1890

c. 1890
pre-1900
coll. 1800-09
early 19003?
c. 1900?
1992
1820-40
1830-50
c.1835
c.1835

c. 1850

c. 1850

c. 1970

c. 1940-60
late 17003
c. 1800-09
late 18003
c. 1980

c. 1980

DIA
Private
FMNH
MGR
DIA
AGLI
DIA
MHM
NMI
CMU
NMAI

Private
CPM
LM
NMI
MHM
Private

Private

Table 3 (cont'd).

30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.

47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.

Necklace, medallion, bead
Ojibwa

Necklace, medallion, bead
Ojibwa

Pin, watercolor
Ojibwa, A Hubbard

Pin, watercolor
Ojibwa, A. Hubbard

Pouch, skin, black dyed,
quilled, Ottawa

Pouch, skin, black dyed,
quilled, Ottawa

Pouch, skin, black dyed,
quilled, Ottawa type

Pouch, skin, black dyed
E. Great Lakes/Ottawa?

Pouch, skin, black dyed
quilled, Ottawa

Pouch, skin, black dyed
quilled, Ottawa

Pouch, skin, black dyed
E. Ojibwa type

Pouch, wool, linen cloth
Ojibwa

Pouch, tanned, black-dyed

qullled, E. Great lakes

Pouch,deerskin,black-dyed 1902.326

6695.8.2
6695.8.1

III-M-l
III-M-2
III-M-3

III-G-84l

3690
81.487

III-G-828

M740
III-M-6

qullled, Ottawa-Ojibwa type

Pouch, skin, black dyed
quilled, Ottawa/Ojibwa
Purse, coin, beaded

III-G-829

Ottawa and Chippewa, V. High

Robe, quilled deerskin,
Mide', Mackinac, MI
Ojibwa/ Ottawa?

Sash, yarn, beaded
Ottawa

Sash, beaded
Great lakes

Sash, yarn, beaded
Chippewa

Sash, beaded
Chippewa

Sash, beaded
Ojibwa

Waistband, beaded
Ojibwa?

Wristband, beaded
Chippewa

14/ 3269

81.65
81.132
66.14.44
180
123112
H82.270

1987

1987

1994

1994
pre-1800
late 17003
c. 1780

c. 1780

c. 1780

c. 1780

c. 1780
early 18003
c.1800

coll. 1800—09
180)

1994

poss.1816

c. 1800-30
1820-40

c. 1840

c. 1890
early 19003
early 19003?
c. 1990

MSUM
MSUM
MG
MG
NMM
NMM
NMM
NMM
CIS
DIA
NMM
McC
NMM
NMI
NMM
MG
NMAI

DIA
DIA
HFW
Private
MGR
CMU

Private

Table 3 (Con't).
Textiles

54. Bag, woven fiber panel
Central Great lakes
55. Bag, nettlestalk fiber
Central Great lakes
56. Bag, woven fiber panel
Central Great lakes
57. Bag, panel, twined
Ottawa
58. Bag, twined fiber
Menomini
59. Bag, twined fiber
Menomini
60. Bag, twined fiber
Menomini
61. Bag, twined fiber
Menomini
62. Bag, panel, nettle & wool
Ottawa
63. Bag, panel/wool
Chippewa
64. Bag, cotton panel
Ojibwa
65. Bag, panel, nettle & wool
Potawatomi
66. Bag, beaded
Ottawa
67. Bag, banded, wool
Ojibwa
68. Bag, panel, wool
Potawatomi
69. Bag, banded cotton/wool
Chippewa
70. Bag, storage, cotton
Ojibwa
71. Bag, beaded
Potawatomi
72. Bag, medicine, yarn
Potawatomi?
73. Mat, rush, woven
Ottawa
74. Panel, netted quillwork
Ojibwa
75. Panel, beadwork
Ottawa
76. Quilt, cotton
Ojibwa, A. Fox
77. Quilt, cotton
Ojibwa, R. Corbiere

1902.327
1902.328
1902.329
51

16/ 9124

Neg.#3 8269

& #3 8270

Neg.#34086

& #34085

Neg. #3 8479

& #3 8480
81.39

81.285
81.37
81.102
81.282
81.184
81.372
81.666
141
3071
1234
54

HD 16387

6653.1
7104.1

collected 1800-09
collected 1800-09
collected 1800—09
c.1851

post 1850?

post 1850?
post 1850?

post 1850?
c. 1860

1860

c.1870

c. 1870

c. 1870

c.1885

c. 1890

c. 1890

c. 1900

early 19003 (?)
early 19003 (?)
c.1851

early 18003
mid-19003?
1987

1990

NMI
NMI
NMI

AMNH

AMNH
AMNH

AMNH
DIA

DIA
DIA
DIA
DIA
DIA
DIA
DIA
_S_C_
CIS
CIS
mo
ROM
Private
MSUM
MSUM

Table 3 (cont'd).

78. Quilt, cotton
Ojibwa/ Ottawa, Trudeau/Enosse
79. Quilt, cotton

Othez Household Items

81. Box, birchbark, quilled
Saginaw, MI?

82-83. Needles,buffalo rib
84. Cradleboard panel

Ojibwa, A. Fox
80. Quilt motif, A. Fox, based on

Ojibwa design from Agawa Rock

Ojibwa?
Potawatomi

Ojibwa-type

85. Cradleboard

Great lakes

86. Cradleboard

Tgavel Related Items

87. Snowshoes, wood, sinew

[Postcard #150 of White Wolf & son canoeing

61'

88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.

Ottawa, Petoskey, MI

Ojibwa

Chippewa]

o ' Ob'ects

Bag/ pouch, skin & beaded

Ottawa

Cloth, Mide' ceremonial

Ojibwa

Dance wand, minature

Potawatomi

Drum, wood, deerskin
Chippewa or Potawatomi
Drum, wood, skin

Potawatomi?

Pipe bowl, pewter

Ottawa

Pipe stem, wood, quills

Chippewa

Scroll, birchbark, Mide

Ojibwa

Wooden Mide' board

Ojibwa

ZE69.12 a/b
81.380.1-3

III-G-848

1320(R)/
1136(Y)

3784

7531.1

III-G-12a

155730

81.262
81.752
Plate 17

159

c. 1990
pre—1994
1994

c. 1930-50

c. 1860
17003
possibly 1900

c. 1924

c.1870
c.1957

c.1992
Pre-1912
1800-60

c. 1840

c. 1940—60
c. 1800
1840-60
c.1893

c. 1860-80

MSUM
Private

Private

CMU

DIA
NMM
MSUM

MHM

CIS
MSA

MSUM
NMM
FMNH
RMP
CPM
DIA
DIA

IE8

17

Table 3 (cont'd).
Masts
97. Cutout, birchbark, Thunderbird

Ojibwa

98. Painting, "Thunderbird"

Ojibwa, N. Morrisseau

99. Painting, "Misshipeshu"

100

101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.

Ojibwa, N. Morrisseau

Painting, "Misshipeshu"
Ojibwa, N. Morrisseau

Painting, acrylic "Mishi Mishoo"
Ojibwa, D. Dutcher

Painting, acrylic "Gitche Gumme -

1994
c. 1960
c. 1960
c. 1970
1988
1988

Underwater Panther," Ojibwa, P. Migwans

Painting, acrylic "lake Superior
Serpent #2," Ojibwa, P. Migwans

1988

Painting, watercolor "lady Transforming
into Thunderbird," Ojibwa, A. Hubbard 1988

Painting, watercolor "Teasing"
Ojibwa, A. Hubbard

Painting, watercolor, "Woman & Dog"
Ojibwa, A. Hubbard

Painting, watercolor
Ojibwa, A. Hubbard

Painting, watercolor "Floral Design"
Ojibwa, Dockstader

Painting, acrylic
Ojibwa, J. Fiddler

Painting, acrylic
Ojibwa, A. Hubbard

Painting, watercolor "Balance
of Power," Ojibwa

Painting, watercolor "Look Before
You Leap," Ojibwa

Painting, watercolor, ink
Ojibwa, A. Hubbard

Painting, watercolor "Finding a Time
for Myself," Ojibwa

Painting, acrylic
Ojibwa, P. Migwans

Painting, pen & ink
Ojibwa

Painting, acrylic
Ojibwa, P. Migwans

Painting, acrylic,
Ojibwa, P. Migwans

119. Quillbox, birchbark & quills 7232.1

Ottawa, B. Parkey

120. Quillbox, birchbark & quills

Ottawa, Y. Keshick

1988
1988
c. 1988
c.1990
c. 1990
1990

c. 1990
1990
1991
1992
1994
c. 1994
1994
1994
c.1990

1994

MG
Private
Private
SD

JBM
JBM

JBM

JBM
JBM

Private
Private
Private
N LC

Private

Private
Private
Private
Private
Private
MG

MG

MG
MSUM

MG

18
Table 3 (cont'd).

121. Quillbox, birchbark 8: quills 1988
Ottawa, D. Naganashe

122. Pottery, bowl ZE77.1.7 c. 1970
Chippewa

123. Sculpture, marble, D. Cristy c. 1994
Chippewa

Wea s d ela ed Items

124. (a)Covering for war bundle Fig. 11-14 8: 16 pre-1913
skin, painted, Menomini

125. Club, wooden gunstock lII-G—834 18(1)
Ojibwa?

126. Club, wooden 1902.352 collected 1800-09
E.Great lakes

127. Club, wooden HD 5820 early 18003
E.Great lakes

128. Club, wooden 15891 early 18003

129. Club, wooden lIl-X-2 3 5 pre-1840
Great lakes

130. Club/Gunstock, wood, iron c. 1840
Chippewa

131. Club, wood; red pigment 1880.1894 pre—1880
Ojibwa
C. Great lakes

132-34. Rattles (3) from war bundle,
wood with deer hoofs Fig. 21 pre-1913
Menomini

135. Rattle, wood, deer hoofs 16/2618 pre-l928
Potawatomi

Photographs/ Postcard

136. Photo, Peter Jones Fig. 1.1 8/4/1845

137. Photo, Shoppenagon,
wife, and child, Chippewa

Neg.#00747 c.1850

138. Photo, Chief Shoppenagon File #2 c. 1850
Chippewa
139. Photo, Indian woman (C.2.2)/
Potawatomi 201260(4716) 1897
140. Photo, Indian man/woman (C1.2)/
Potawatomi 135287(47l6) 1897
141. Photo, Indian woman/donor?
Potawatomi (C.1.2)/135287(4716) 1897
142. Photo, 3 men 8: 2 children c. 1940—60
Potawatomi?
143. Photo, three men c. 1940-60
Potawatomi?
144. Photo, Suzie Shagonaby 19503?

Ottawa

Private
CMU

Private

 

NMM
NMI
ROM

McC
NMM

Private

NMI

 

MGR
MGR

MGR
CPM

CPM
MSA

19

Table 3 (cont'd).

145. Photo, Indian Princess Folder 6 1951
Ottawa

146. Photo, Chief Yellow Neg.#5651890 1956
Thunder/Ottawa

147. Photo, Indian man "Woodworking" c.1959
Potawatomi? from Hannaville Res, M1

148. Photo, Elbinger, pow-wow regalia, 1993
D. Teeple, Ojibwa

149. Photo, Elbinger, pow-wow regalia, 1993
G. Martin, Ojibwa

150. Postcard, White Wolf 8: son canoeing c. 1957
Chippewa

Rock Art, Shale I)_iscs

151. Disc, shale Hampshire 1-32 c. 1350-1400
Alpena, MI

152. Disc, shale Hampshire 1-45 c. 1350-1400
Alpena, MI

153. Disc, shale Hampshire 1-38 c. 1350-1400
Alpena, MI

154. Bannerstone, stone 3834(Y)/
Branch Co., Ml 5369(R) Collected 1876-1902

155. Pendant, shell OE2002.21.35 Date unknown
Allegan Co?, MI

156. Petroglyphs Sanilac Petroglyphs
Sanilac Co., MI

157. Pictographs Agawa Rock
Ontario, Canada

Present Day Commercial Uses of Images

158. Bag, plastic 8: paper sales tag 1994
Ontario, Canada (Agawa Rock region)

159. Banner, museum c. 1990

160. Brochure, museum c. 1990

161. Bracelet, copper 1992
Kewenau Pennisula, Michigan

162. Business card, paper 1992

163. Earrings, copper, clip c. 1970

164. Moccasins, beaded H82.281 a,b pre-1982
Made by Quilmox

165. Moccasins, beaded 1993

Made by Minnetonka

MSA
MSA
MSA
MSUM
MSUM

MSA

JBM
JBM
JBM
MDS
MSUM
SPSP
LSPP

MG

MSUM
MSUM
MG

MG
MG
CMU

MG

20

Data Collected through Interviews

Since the modern day meaning of these images within the three tribes
was important, interviews were sought with various Great lakes Indian artists,
tribal elders, and tribal leaders throughout Michigan. Approval for oral
research was sought from the University Committee on Research Involving
Human Subjects, and once received, prospective participants were contacted.
This list was compiled based on various artists whose work I had seen while
visiting museums, a few whom I had met through the MSU Museum's Folk Life
Festival and at pow wows, and others recommended by museum curators and
faculty. All those contacted were willing and agreeable to participate in the
study (see Appendix A for lnterviewee Consent Form).

Of this group, five were women and four were men. Their occupations
varied from that of school administrator to homemaker and artist, including
those with responsibilities within the tribes such as elder or cultural positions.
Their ages ranged from thirty to eighty-two, and they were of varying socio-
economic backgrounds. My objective was to talk with at least one member of
each of the three tribes, and this was accomplished. Many interviewed had
ancestors from two of the tribes, and one had ancestors from all three tribes (a
true person of the Three Fires). Refer to Table 4 for a listing of interviewees.

Although the interviews were to focus on the main topic (see Interview
Collection Form, Appendix A), they were open-ended and thus, not only more
diverse in content, but more in-depth as a result. Interviews were reserved
until the end of the study so that themes and questions derived from the

artifacts and stories could be cross-checked.

21

 

e t rviewees o sulte in the Stud
Nani; or Pseudonnnl Age Sex Occupation/ Position jIjjj be
Mark Crampton 30 M Local Indian Center Odawa and
Education director; Chippewa
Cultural Vice-Chair of
Saginaw Chippewa
Tribal Council
Alice Fox 80 F Artist; homemaker Ojibwa
and Ottawa
Anny Hubbard 39 F Artist; Substance Nishnawbe
abuse counselor (Anishnabe)
Yvonne Walker Keshick 47 F Artist; Odawa tribal Odawa
elder and Ojibwa
Mary (Pseudonym) 52 F Volunteer leader in local Odawa,
Indian organization; Potawatomi
other tribal positions and Ojibwa
Peter Migwans 57 M Artist; storyteller; Ojibway
retired steel worker; and Odawa
community elder
Jay Oliver 82 M Accountant; hospital Ottawa
technician (nurse);
Ottawa tribal elder
Barbara Tazelaar 50 F Artist; writer; art Sault Tribe
gallery assistant of
manager Chippewa
Ted (Pseudonym) 47 M School administrator; Potawatomi

 

tribal elder; chairman of
state-wide Indian

organization;

parent and grandparent

1Although the consent form states that the person interviewed will be
unnamed, some interviewees wished to be named. Accordingly, their true
names are used. Their occupations, positions, and tribes are self-identified.

22

Once the interviews were completed, the tapes of these conversations
were transcribed. The data were then analyzed by coding each transcription
for themes, and were reviewed a number of different times for additional
information. The following is a listing of major themes from the interviews:

color associations

complexity of meanings
communication

cyclical nature

Euro-American view of images
holism and balance

images in opposition
interconnection

loss of culture

oppression

positive and negative forces
power

practices associated with images
purpose of images in art
relationship to geographic and natural environment
relationship to tourism
revitalization of native traditions
role within society

spiritual nature (or use)

Analytical Model for Artifact Study

In recent years, various models and methodologies have been proposed
for the study of historical material culture by Fleming (1982), Gordon (1987),
Prown (1982), Severa and Horswill (1989), and Zimmerman (1981). Of these
models, Fleming's has received the most attention. In his model, the object is:
(1) identified, (2) authenticated, (3) researched for its history, (4) physically
described based on materials, construction, design, and dimensions, and finally
(5) evaluated for aesthetic quality, workmanship, and comparison to objects of
its kind. The relationship of the object to its culture is then examined to reveal
aspects of the object through various functions (physical, aesthetic, social, and

psychological). An important element in Fleming's model is the interpretation

23
of the significance of the object to the current culture, drawing parallels
between the object and the value system.

During 1983-84, Stuart Smith's graduate history class at the University
of New Brunswick studied Fleming's model and found that it was too complex
and "attempted to synthesize too much information from several sources too
early in the investigation procedure" (Smith, 1985, p. 31). In searching for a
workable methodology, Smith's class developed a "cleaner, basic model,"
incorporating some aspects of Fleming's model. One of the main objectives of
the group was to encourage the analysis of the properties of the artifact itself
without any preconceived ideas, by visually examining the object more closely
for observable data before using any data external to the object. This is
different from Fleming's approach in such a study. The revised model which
the class developed (which I will call the Smith model), involves four
successive operations in which the properties of the artifact are analyzed in
terms of its material, construction, provenance (region of origin and history),
function and value.

In the first step of Smith's model, the researcher observes and
documents data about the five properties of an artifact through sensory
contact with the object. Step two, or Comparative Data, involves the
investigation of similar artifacts to test differences and similarities of like
kinds. Once these observations have been made, the researcher continues
with step three, or Supplementary Data, whereby s/he studies written sources
for additional information. All data are then synthesized in step Four,
Conclusions.

The method of artifact analysis which I used in this study was based on

Smith's model. However, I have modified the final step of the Smith model to

24
include the two final operations from Fleming's model. The revised model now
incorporates Fleming's "cultural analysis" and "interpretation" as the final
two steps of the artifact study, rather than just one final phase. The modified
model, to be used in this study, is shown below [ Fig. 1(a)].

A simplified model was desired for the initial steps in the study, as I
wished to allow the object to "reveal itself" without the influence of
information such as its history and authentication (a part of Fleming's
analysis). One of the primary objectives was to discover aspects about the
artifact and its symbolism which would provide evidence toward a cultural and
interpretive analysis of classes of objects and images over time. This revised
model provides a systematic order to the process of data collection, analysis and
interpretation. Its concise and yet adaptable categories for investigation lend
themselves well to the collection of data and to the observance of part-whole
relationships within the objects being studied.

In addition to this model guiding my methodology, the role of an object within
a functional field as described by Henry Glassie (1973) greatly affected my
thinking. Glassie, in discussing costume, considers the object as serving many
functions, which operate between the person and his/her culture or world.
Glassie's conceptualization or framework for analysis is an individual-
centered one. In his diagram (Fig. 1(b)] , the object(pictured as a square)
operates between one individual and another. Straight "manifesting" lines
show the status of a relationship within a category, while curved "mediational"
lines establish the nature of relations between categories. As Glassie says, ". . .
[T]he object lies between different human beings, in which the costume is
employed as a sign during social interaction" (p. 337). Additionally, and
particularly relevant to this study, is Glassie's discussion of costume (object),

as a mediator between nature and culture-—as well as its magical functions--

Analysis Procedure

Material Construction

25

Question Categories

Function

Provenance

Value

 

Step 1
Observable
Data

 

Step 2
Comparative
Data

 

Step 3
Supplementary
Data

 

Step 4
Cultural Analysis
Conclusions

 

 

Step 5
Interpretive
Conclusions

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 1(a). Diagram of the revised Smith artifact study model.

 

26

 

Fig. 1(b). Glassie's "Individual-Centered" diagram. Ngtg. From "Structure and
Function, Folklore and the Artifact," by H. Glassie, 1973, Senntoiga, 7 (4), p. 336.
Copyright 1973 by Mouton de Gruyter, a division of Walter de Gruyter 8: Co.,
Publishers. Reprinted with permission.
relating man to the supernatural. The functional diagram proposed by Glassie

may also be subdivided into individual sections to address various roles of an

object. With these concepts in mind, the analysis of objects could begin.

Human Ecological Construct:
Part - Whole Relationships

The human ecological concept of parts and wholes has been described
by Gerald Young as stemming from "an ancient dialectic," for humans have
always been "intrigued by how things fit" (1989, p. 33). One may ask how parts
are formed into wholes. And vice versa, how does a whole come about out of its
component parts? William Abler (1992), in his doctoral dissertation, explored
part and whole relationships within human ecological theory; he describes

this concept as contained within the word holon, following Koestler, who

27
coined this word and the concept of holism. Holon is a blending of the Greek
holos, for whole, and on, for part or particle. As Abler says, "All phenomena
are seen to operate simultaneously as both part of a larger whole and a whole
unto itself. Further, the whole is contained within each component part"
(1992, p. 27).

The ideas of simultaneous operation and parts and wholes have also
been touched upon by material culturalists and artists. Henry Glassie, in
analyzing the functions of folk costume, says that "the artifact can be read as
exhibiting aspects of different systems [wholes/parts]" (1973, p. 326). Costume
and all man-made objects serve "simultaneously multi-functional" purposes,
for "things not only do perform at once in many ways, they should" (p. 339).
For example, a Native American, by wearing a bag with the thunderbird
image, could experience spiritual and social connections within the context of
his/her culture, and likely experience many other connections, through the
wearing of this bag. Simultaneously, a non-Native American could be
experiencing another part, or whole, by connecting with this culture through
an appreciation of the artistic image on the bag. An analysis of an object in
Chapter 5 will further demonstrate part-whole relationships.

Artist Paul Klee highlights another consideration--the transforming
aspect-of part and whole relationships, which one may call "the sum greater
than its parts." Klee speaks of the artist and his transformation of nature into
new meaning:

It is not easy to arrive at a conception of a whole which is constructed

from parts belonging to different dimensions. . . not only nature, but
also art, her transformed image, is such a whole (1954, p. 15).

28
The concept of parts and wholes is integral in helping to understand the
relationship of the thunderbird and the underwater panther images as

symbols of meaning within the Great lakes Indian cultures.
Part-Whole Analysis Outline

To assist in the analysis of part and whole relationships of the artifacts
studied, the following outline was designed as a guide. Using this outline the
investigator:

1. Looks at the object for an overall sense of lines and symbols employed

2. Begins assessing the relationship of the smallest part of the major motif to
the motif itself; compares each part to the whole and to other parts

3. Compares the major motif to any other motif

4. Compares the spatial arrangement of the major motif to other spatial
arrangements

5. Considers numbers (of motifs, etc.)

6. Considers color

7. Considers repetition of line as reinforcement of an idea in the major motif
8. Considers motif(s) on the opposite side of the artifact, or other major area,
and the significance to the whole of the artifact

9. Considers the material(s) employed and its significance within the whole
structure of the object or the ecosystem it represents

10. Considers the entire artifact (and the symbol(s) employed) within its

cultural world view

Following is an example of the questions raised using the outline above

in an examination of Pouch #34 (Fig. 2).

29

WC: WEE"
- m

 

Fig. 2. Ottawa quilled skin pouch, #NMMIlI—M—l. Note. From "Bo'jou, Neejee!"
flgfllgs 91 Canadian Indian Art, by T. J. Brasser, 1976, p. 97. Copyright 1976 by

the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Reprinted with permission.

30
1. Get an overall sense of the elements of the bag. This is a pouch with four
panther images, outlined in twined quillwork, with major lines and spaces
internal and external to their bodies.
2. Begin with the smallest area of analysis--the parts of the smallest whole
a. What does the internal line of lower right and left designate?
1) Is the solid line through the center of the body a heartline?
2) Does the single wavy line above, which repeats the major line
at the top of the pouch and the line above the upper pair, suggest water?
3) Relationship of this part to the solid thicker internal line?
4) Both lines to the internal part of the underwater panther?
5) Both lines to the entire underwater panther?
b. Significance of "horns" as part of the underwater panther?
c. Significance of the line outlining the body, seemingly flowing into
the "horns"?

d. Is there meaning related to the tail length and its being beneath the

underwater panther?

3. Compare major motif to any other motifs: Two pairs of underwater
panther motifs
a. Two lower panthers form a pair

1) Do they have the same internal aspects?

2) Are they males or females? 13 sex signified?

3) Does the pair represent the front and back of one panther?

3) Are they joined by tails (parts) into a pair to represent oneness
(the whole) of friendship, unity of family, clan, tribe, society (social,
religious, other)?

b. Upper pair--similar but different from the lower pair

3 1

1) Internal "parts" are different; does this suggest difference in
power or nature of the upper to the lower pair?

2) The repeat design around the inner perimeter of the pouch is
similar to the internal structure of this pair; is this an intentional parallelism?

3) Tails appear joined, but the "join" is more dramatic and
powerful--it appears knotted or wrapped; is it suggesting a stronger bond?

4) "Horns" seem to be piercing the wavy line above. Does the
wavy line represent water, and are the "horns" pushing the bounds or limits
of the "lower world" into the "upper world"? I

c. What is the significance of the two solid lines above the upper pair of
panthers?

4. Spatial arrangement of panther motifs to other spatial arrangements:

a. There are two (2) pairs of three (3) horizontal lines. Are they earth
lines and sky (vault?) lines? (could also be discussed under item #4)

b. Are pairs portrayed to represent a pair of males or a pair of females,
or two different male/female pairs, each different or indicated by internal
attributes and tail joinings, yet of equal stature because of relative size, again
re—emphasizing the importance of social equality of all?

5. Consider numbers: four (4) used, part of sacredness of world view?

6. Is there significance in the use of color: red, yellow, blue, white, orange?
7. Repetition of line: 13 there significance in the use of the wavy line
above the horns of the top pair?

a. Is the outline at the very top of the bag used to further reinforce the
suggestion of the power of the underworld?

b. Is the twined line surrounding the inner perimeter of the bag, as

well as the internal feature of the top pair (an artistic device composed of two

32
wavy lines), designed to suggest the "double power" of the panther of the
underworld?
8. Consider motifs on opposite side of object: there are no images on
the reverse of the bag. 13 this due to the function of the pouch?
9. What is the significance of the use of natural materials: skin bag, dyed
black (with bark or other natural medium?), decorated with quills from the
porcupine, and sewn with sinew? Does use of natural materials connect the
maker and user more intimately with his/her surrounding world?
10. Consider the entire object: What does the use of natural materials in
the making of the object, the images employed on the object, and the purpose
of the bag, tell us about the world view of the maker/user?

The answers to these questions were sought through supplementary
written sources and interviews with Great lakes Indians.

When the analysis of data from the written materials and artifacts was
completed, aspects and themes about the two images were sought and
integrated. Further clarifications were then sought through the interviews.
lastly, analyses related to part and whole relationships were performed using
the above process. It was necessary to return to the data sources many times,
re—examining various artifacts and themes, as well as seeking new insights.
Gradually larger patterns evolved as time and reflection lent additional light to
the answers I sought about the thunderbird and the underwater panther.

The following two chapters will discuss the world view of the Great
lakes Indians, and the images of the thunderbird and underwater panther, as

they appear within their material culture.

CHAPTER 3
THE GREAT LAKES INDIANS
"The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we
know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family.

All things are connected." - Chief Seattle
(Brower, 1990, p. 6)

The information in the following sections about the underwater
panther and the thunderbird is based primarily on data which have been
collected in the fields of art history, anthropology, archaeology, and folklore,
as well as from the interviews. Information obtained from the interviews is
combined with written primary and secondary sources in order to integrate
ideas and concepts. Interviewees who wished to remain anonymous were
given fictitious names, and true names are used for the other interviewees.
Written primary sources used are personal histories from the early
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as ethnographic sources that have
provided additional data. Secondary sources about lifestyles of various tribes
and details about specific artifacts within specific time frames (by
archaeologists, anthropologists, and art historians) have provided pertinent

information.

Early History and Culture

The predominant tribes at the time of European contact in the

seventeenth century who were located north and south of the Upper Great

33

34

lakes were those of the Algonquian language family: the Ojibwa (or Ojibway,
sometimes commonly known as Chippewa), the Ottawa (or Odawa), and the
Potawatomi. West and southwest of lake Superior were the Siouian speaking
tribes; and lroquoian speakers lived to the east of this region [see map, Fig. 3].
These Woodland cultures were joined by bonds of customs, kin and dialect.

Generally, the Woodland culture evolved from early Archaic peoples
(about 8000-6000 BC.) who were located throughout the Eastern half of North
America. The peoples of this early culture practiced agriculture, created
pottery, and had an extensive ceremonial system. They produced elaborate
grave goods and often buried their dead in low earthen mounds. Early Archaic
peoples may have lived in the Upper Great Lakes regions, as archaeologists
have found projectile points, most likely part of a cremation ceremony, in
Marquette County, Michigan, dating from 7500-7000 B. C. (Cleland, 1992).

The Great lakes Woodland Indians began their migration to the Great
lakes region from the northeastern part of the United States and from
southeastern Canada probably by 900 BC. (Swauger, 1984). By the time of
European contact in the early seventeenth century, these Algonquian tribes
had migrated well into the Great lakes area. They called themselves
Anishnabeg or Anishnabek (Anishnabe, singular), meaning the "true" or
"real" people, to indicate their descent through mythological origins, and to
differentiate themselves from others (Cleland, 1992; McClurken, 1991). As the
Anishnabeg had moved westward, they had come in contact with the Sioux and
remained friendly with them. later, however, they began competing for
hunting territory, in part, because of the fur trade. This led to war between
them, and by 1770, they had driven the Sioux into the plains. Eventually the
territory of these Algonquian-speaking peoples extended throughout the Great

Lakes (Whiteford, 1991).

35

Ojibwa

   
  

Lake Superior

Ojibwa

"é.
9»
g Ojibwa ..
;_ é Ojibwa
59 S
E s s
g 8.. 5 POtawatomi
is"
Q" Potawatomi Ottawa

Fig. 3. Map of Great lakes region about 1800, noting tribal locations

36

The Anishnabeg's way of life depended on the subsistence activities of
hunting, fishing, food-gathering, and some limited agricultural activities,
depending upon their location. Generally, the Anishnabeg living in the
northern forest regions were hunters and fishermen, while those living
further south depended substantially on farming, raising corn, beans, and
squash. The men were responsible for the construction of dwellings,
longhouses, canoes and toboggans, and for clearing the land for agriculture.
They also practiced stone and wood carving. Women's tasks included the
planting and harvesting of crops, all household tasks, and child raising. In
addition, women produced all clothing, wove and embroidered, prepared
animal skins, and made items from birchbark (King, 1982). Life was a series of
seasonal rounds made between a summer home, where fishing or cultivating
activities were carried on in a communal atmosphere, and a winter hunting
camp, where life centered around the social unit of the family. Due to this
system of constant movement and dispersal, the Anishnabeg had a rather loose
and informal political system. Their social system was one based on egalitarian
ethics of sharing, generosity and mutual respect which extended to the world

of animals and nature.

Life after Contact with European Cultures

The first contact with European cultures came with Jesuit missionaries
and couriers-de-bois, fur trappers and traders who often lived with the
Anishnabeg, in the late seventeenth century (White, 1992). The Anishnabeg
were eager to trade with the white newcomers, bringing furs for new goods.
It was a reciprocal arrangement. Missionary priests established missions to

teach the Anishnabeg methods of agriculture as well as to introduce the

37

Christian religion. Missions were begun in various places throughout the
upper peninsula and lower region of Michigan. French priests ministered in
Middle Village, for example, until the mission was closed in 1765 (McClurken,
1991).

With the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1760, the English
replaced the French traders and took over their forts, the major ones being at
Detroit and Mackinac. More settlers began arriving in the area in the early
18003, after the Revolutionary War. Even though an ordinance was signed by
the new United States government in 1785 to protect the Anishnabeg lands
from squatters and trespassers, it was ineffectual. It also allowed the
government to participate in future treaties for lands. Through constant
ceding of lands under territorial governors, the Anishnabeg were forced into
smaller and smaller lands for their livelihood (Clifton, 1986; Cornell, 1986;
McClurken, 1986).

Simultaneous with President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Policy
of May, 1830 was Michigan's move toward statehood. Just prior to statehood in
1837, another treaty, the Treaty at Washington of 1836, was essentially
designed for removal. As pointed out by Cornell (1986), "Article Eight clearly
states that the Anishnabeg were expected to move 'southwest of the Missouri
River'" (p. 96). Anishnabeg tribes living in the lower regions of Michigan
were virtually driven out, many fleeing to Canada for refuge. Describing the
experience for the Ottawa, McClurken (1991) says:

Compared to the Grand River Odawa in southern Michigan, who were

being overrun by American settlers that threatened their very lives,
the Odawa mission at Harbor Springs worked to create a secure life . . .

(p. 19)

38

And in 1837, many Potawatomi were forcibly transported by the U. S. military
to the distant lands of Kansas and areas west of the Mississippi.

In the 18803, the U. S. government wished to acculturate quickly those
Anishnabeg remaining in Michigan through education, and thus began the
boarding school experience. The Mount Pleasant Indian School in Mt.
Pleasant, Michigan, opened in 1893. Its purpose was to teach Indian children
"new occupations that prepared them for the American work force"
(McClurken, 1991, p. 35). Many Indian ways were suppressed, particularly
language and clothing. Children were sent, typically at age six or seven, to
board and be educated in a somewhat military system, returning home usually
in the summer.

The nineteenth century was a time of continuing struggle over land
and place in society for the Anishnabeg. By the 18603 only the Isabella
reservation at Mt. Pleasant remained. With their land and means of livelihood
gone, the Anishnabeg adopted the white society's ways of living by working in
the lumbering industry, or various seasonal and factory jobs. By the turn of
the century, their communities were poor; and with the hard times of the
19303, the Indian school at Mt. Pleasant was closed. It wasn't until the passage
of Title IV, the Indian Education Act of 1972, that hope revived, through

education, for the native peoples.

World View of the Great lakes Indian

The Anishnabeg are deeply spiritual. This spirituality differs from that
of other Native American groups, for it is more individual, rather than being
formal or ritualistic (Cleland, 1992). The traditional Anishnabeg's sense of

connectedness to the world around him or her is sought through individual

39

quests for a personal guardian. Through this quest and acquisition of a
guardian, one gains possession of personal power in order to achieve
happiness and success in life.

To understand the Anishnabeg's idea of one's place in the world--one's
connectedness and interrelationship with a world where everything has a
spirit or soul-one must understand the conception of animals, plants, power,
and the supernatural, all a part of this world view.

Before beginning a discussion of the world view of the Anishnabeg, it is
perhaps best to define this cultural concept as used in this thesis. Anthro-
pologist A. Irving Hallowell (1955), in his seminal work on the Ojibwa and
their world view, speaks of cultures as "elaborate systems of meaning" which
help the individual, through objectifying processes, to understand one's role
in society in relationship to one's fellow human and one's "articulated
universe" (p. 76). In defining world view, Hallowell quotes Redfield:

It is the picture . . . the members of a society have of the properties

and characters upon their stage of action. While 'national character'

refers to the way these people look to the outsider looking in on them,

'world view' refers to the way the world looks to that people, looking out.

Of all that is connoted by 'culture,’ 'world view' attends especially to the

way a man, in a particular society, sees himself in relation to all else. It

is the properties of existence as distinguished from and related to the
self. It is, in short, a man's idea of the universe. It is that organization

of ideas which answers to a man the questions: Where am 1? Among
whom do I move? What are my relations to things? (Hallowell, 1955, p.

76, quoting R. Redfield from fleceedings of the American

Philosophical Association XCVIl952, p. 30).

Overholt and Callicott, in defining world view from a philosophical
perspective, state that it "may be understood as a set of conceptual

presuppositions, both conscious and unconscious, articulate and inarticulate,

shared by members of a culture" (1982, p. 1).

40

I am in agreement with Hallowell and Redfield's concept of world view--
that we must consider the self-image and interpretation of that image within
the realm of an individual's experiences. Also, this image cannot be separated
from the concept of self embraced by that individual's society. Important, too,
is "relations to things," as Redfield stated, and as expressed by Hallowell. The
particular world view of the Anishnabeg is greatly influenced by strong social
webs of kinship and spiritual webs connecting them to Nokomis (Grandmother
Earth) and all her creatures. There are also strong webs that link the
Anishnabeg to a world non-Indians would call 'the supernatural.‘ Strong and
vital spiritual relationships may be held with beings or "persons," which
transcend those maintained with humans. As explained by Hollowell (1960) in
his discussion of Ojibwa world view, "the nature of 'persons' is the focal point
of Ojibwa ontology and the key to the psychological unity and dynamics of

their world outlook" (p.43).

Spiritual and Social Relationships

In the traditional Anishnabeg world view, living and dead human
beings may assume the form of animals. Hallowell says that "metamorphosis to
the Ojibwa mind is an earmark of 'power'" (1960, p. 39). Humans can only
acquire their increased power through the help of "other-than-human
persons" (p. 39). Dreams/visions are of extreme importance for it is through
them that one encounters, by "seeing" or "hearing," the other-than-human
"grandfathers," or "dream visitors," pawaganak, who possess great power.
These "persons," "grandfathers," pawaganak or atiso'kanak, are dynamic

within their universe. Jay Oliver, an Ottawa tribal elder and interviewee, said

41

that pawagan means "peace pipe." The inference is that one seeks these special
beings or powers through the smoking of the pipe, the smoke being the visual
and sensory prayer sent when seeking connection to this spiritual world. The
meaning of manitou may also be considered synonymous with these persons of
other-than-human class (Hallowell, 1960).

"The central goal of life for the Ojibwa is expressed by the term
pimadaziwin, life in the fullest sense, life in the sense of longevity, health and
freedom from misfortune" (Hallowell, 1960, p. 45). To achieve pimadaziwin,
one must maintain approved standards of personal and social conduct in order
to receive power, or a "blessing," from the "grandfathers." And because the
"grandfathers" share their powers with humans, one must share with others
(p. 47). Relationships must be reciprocal. This is a central moral value and
outlook.

The transformation capacity of beings is another important concept.
Transformation and power are given evidence in Anishnabeg myths and
dreams. All animate beings have a similar structure, says Hallowell, with an
inner vital part that is enduring and an outward form which can change.
Indian artist Anny Hubbard, an interviewee, speaks to this concept of
transformation, for she continually dreamed of being changed into the

thunderbird:

I had a recurring dream about transformingnabout watching someone
transform into a thunderbirdnand it's really spooky. Not spooky, but
powerful! That's the word I want. Powerful!

Another part of this world view is the idea of cooperation and

coexistence, as explained by Underhill and Cleland. As Underhill says:

42

For the old-time Indian, the world did not consist of inanimate
materials to be used and of animals to be butchered and eaten. It was
alive, and everything in it could help or harm him . . . The questions
immediately asked about . . ."nature persons" are: Were they all alive
and powerful in their own right? Were only some of them powerful?
Or was the power from some indwelling spirit which might come and
go? . . . There is no clear and simple answer. . . For the average Indian
layman, it was enough to know that the "nature persons" were all
around him and that he must follow the rules for gaining their
cooperation. (1972, pp. 40-41)
Thus, the Anishnabeg's participation in life with animals (and all of
Mother Earth) is one of maintaining coexistence, for:
. . . animals have always been central to the process by which men form
an image of themselves . . . [They] figure prominently in totemic
discourse not because they are good to eat but because they are good
to think with. This is certainly true in the case of the Anishnabeg,
where the conceptual distinction between human and nonhuman and

between natural and supernatural realms of experience does not follow
the strict Cartesian dichotomy of Western thought. (Cleland, 1992, p. 66)

In Anishnabeg thought, the totem and clan are important concepts.
Totemic descent is more than the linking of humans to animals, for humans
are often transformed from animals. For example, members of the Fish clan
are descendents of a sunfish that had been transformed into a human body
(Cleland, 1992, p. 66). The relationship may be thought of as a symbolic one,
and it often represents a connection to power through spirits. Bierhorst
(1985), in discussing clan origins, says: "An Osage man once remarked, 'We do
not believe that our ancestors were really animals, birds, and so forth as told
in the traditions. These things are only wawikuskaye [symbols] of something
higher" (pg. 231).

In this world of cooperation and coexistence, survival depended upon
the process of not only interacting with one's fellow human, but
communicating and living "with" animals and plants. It even involved the

taking of their lives for that survival. This disrupted the order of creation and

43

the mystical forces controlling human and non-human relationships.
Therefore, rituals were performed to placate the spirits and certain taboos
were observed. In this way, a sacred balance was kept which was a "reciprocal
exchange and cooperation" between the human and non-human world. To
explain this cooperation, Cleland says "it is important to understand that
people are not the takers but that animals and plants are the givers. It is not
the hunter's skill with a bow that brings down the deer, but the deer's
willingness to give its body to the hunter" (1992, p. 67). This belief also
incorporates the aspect of the hunter's connectedness to the animal through
power: At times the hunter has the power over an animal's spirit, whereas at

other times the reverse is true.

The Concept of Power

Power, or "strong medicine," is an important part of the Anishnabeg
world view. Power provides the means by which one may begin to control the
unknown world, and help determine one's actions within the natural world.
One may attain power through rituals and rites. The vision quest, described in
the next section, is a primary means for acquiring personal power and the
protection of a mam’tou for life. These spirits are the sources of power. Songs,
objects such as charms, amulets, or medicine bundles, and sacred places all
contain varying degrees of power.

As expressed by Cleland, one supreme spirit, called kitchimanitou, is
considered to be the prime mover of the universe, but he is not all powerful.
He created the world, but he allows the lesser spirits to control it. Some
powers, although supernatural, inhabit the natural world in human form such

as the folk hero, Nanabojo; others are in the form of animals (such as the

44

thunderbird and underwater panther). Each is often associated with
particular places of power (1992, p. 68). Mark Crampton, an Ottawa and
Chippewa interviewee, has called the supreme being "Father Sky," with the
thunderbird acting as his messenger, and the land as being "Mother Earth."
He describes the relationship as follows:
. . . the highest power resides in the sky. It's sort of like a universal,
around the globe, type of idea . . . Every Christian believes the Heavenly
Father resides, of course, within the Heavens. Your soul [goes] to the
Heaven upon death. Your spirit, your spiritual life, is not here on the
material earth. It is above. In some instances, it's below. The tribes

here in the Great lakes recognize that the highest power resided above.
Its common reference is Father Sky.

Additionally, it seems to me that the essence of the power is that it is shared.
This concept appears to be an integral part of the Anishnabeg's social
structure. Anishnabeg are taught that one shares what one has with others--
food, clothing, whatever it might be. This moral code undoubtedly has been
passed down from very early times. If a family was not fortunate in the hunt
or in a good harvest, others who were successful shared in order to assure the

continuance of the family, clan, or tribe.

The Vision Quest

Great importance is placed in visions and dreams. Visions and dreams
confer a personal guardian spirit, one who will be a guide for life. The quest
for a personal spiritual guardian is of paramount significance, as this spirit or
being provides one with its blessings and inherent power in all endeavors in
life. At puberty one would go out to a lonely place, fast for about ten days, and

hope for a vision. This vision or dream would later be analyzed by a shaman

45

for its content and for the extent of its power. Spiritual powers or manitous
were generally of the animal world, with thunderbirds and upper world spirits
usually considered as beneficent while lower world spirits, such as the
underwater panther, were often viewed in a negative light (Collins, 1991). To

dream was the very substance of life itself. As expressed by Dewdney,

all-pervasive in the oral tradition of the Midewewin lie the concept

of the manito world and the central role of the dream . . . It became
more and more obvious to me that the word manito cannot be translated
into English. Renderings such as 'spirit' or even 'god' reduce seriously
the combination of substance, power and reality that the native word
can express, for in the manito world, accessible only through the
doorway of the dreams, were vested all the powers that determined
whether the hunter and his family would survive or perish. To enter
this world was to step into, not out of, the real world.

To dream, therefore, was man's most meaningful experience . . . where
he fasted until he achieved the dream state that would reveal to him the
manito who would be available for life to help him meet the crises of
survival (1975, p. 37).

Interviews with Ted, a Potawatomi tribal elder and school administrator,
and Peter Migwans, an Ojibwa artist and community elder, also provided
information related to this. As Ted says, it is important to be a traveller
through dreams, to bring back spiritual communications to pass on to the
future generations of the tribe:

The leader . . . must be worthy . . . and has learned to travel through

dreams to bring back the messages from the Great Mystery.

Part of the beauty of the spiritual path is that it's to acknowledge

that it's an individual path. It's not going to be that maybe you're going

to be sat down and taught and be entertained. You grow up, and you

learn and you dream . . . and what comes to mind is the former
teachings. Those were all important.

To Peter, a dream also is given in order to understand something and to act

accordingly:

46

Because you're asked so many questions, or because you're asked so
many things, doesn't necessarily mean all. When somebody gives me
tobacco to interpret their dream or something, they'll give me tobacco,
and I'll say, "OK. What took place in your dream?" and I'll hold that
tobacco, and my first - my m; - thought that comes into my mind,
instantly, is my Creator, because I want to help this person who is
troubled by a dream. It's not me. It's not going to me. I don't want to be
one of those trash magazine dream interpreters. I go to my Creator.
Here's what I think. And so the person tells me their dream, and I'll say,
"0. K. I'll think on that." And then, maybe the next time we see each
other-or if it's very important, maybe it's next week or something. But
I can't say, "Oh, I've got the gift of figuring out your dream." I can't say
that. I've got to think about that. I've got to listen to that person. I've
got to see and hear the body language, you know. I've got to listen to the
voice. I've got to see if it's bothering him in here [pointing to the heart
area] or in here [pointing to the head area], the head or the inside, and
then I've got to figure out what his dream is all about. I think about
that, and I pray on that, and then I say to myself, "Why is this
happening?" So I'll either tell him, or don't get into this, or maybe stay
away from this, because if it's a dream, it's not going to necessarily
happen. If it's a dream, it's to understand something and you act
accordingly, and you're O.I(. . . . A dream's not a dome light. It's a future.

The Midewiwin Society

Another aspect of power--that of healing rites-~is offered by Johnson
(1982), Densmore (1979), Dewdney (1975), Cleland (1992), and McClurken
(1991) in their discussions about the mystic rites of the Midewiwin, or Grand
Medicine Society. The society was formed in the seventeenth century2 to help
cure the sick as well as to encapsulate their religious beliefs. There were four
orders or levels of membership. At each level, the practitioner gained
successively in medicinal and herbal knowledge and power. Medicine bundles
which held special powers were used in initiation rites. Within these bundles

were shells called megis that held the magic power with which to infuse the

 

2There is a controversy about the date of formation of the Midewiwin Society.
Cornell states, and others infer, that Anishnabeg elders believe the Midewiwin
has always been a part of the people's lives (1986, p. 87) yet other scholars
contend the society was formed after contact with European cultures.

 

 

47

initiate. Thus, with the megis, the initiate could be "shot" (transformed) with
power.

Significant spirits within the manitou world associated with Mide' rites,
in addition to the panther and the thunderbird, are the bear, the turtle, the
wolverine, the fox, and the wolf, who may stand before a door or occupy spaces
in the interior of the Mide' lodge. The otter is intimately tied with these rites,
as it has been given the sacred rattle, drum and tobacco, and trained in the
mysteries of the Mide' by Nanabush, the Great Rabbit and folk hero, who is
considered an intercessor or mediator to the Great Spirit. Nanabush gave
immortality to the otter by infusing it with the power of life through the
sacred megis (Hoffman, 1885-86). In addition to the otterskin bag and megis,
various other items were used in the ceremony, such as birchbark scrolls
containing pictographs as memory aids. Bandolier bags, or as Hoffman called
them, "dancing bags," were indicative of Mide' rank. These were worn slung
over the hips on crossed shoulder straps, or straps alone were worn (Dewdney,
1975). (Refer to artifacts numbered 1 through 12 beginning on page 12, which
will hereafter be designated within brackets.)

The Society was considered important in controlling the unknown
powers and forces of the natural world. As John Warner suggests :

Power was an important concept . . . since one had to possess at least

minimal amounts of it in order to carry on existence and survive.

Shamans with power of good and evil were an important feature of life,

and their existence could not be ignored by anyone. The Midewiwin

Society served as an institutional force whereby members could hope to

obtain some power for themselves in order to have security and

protection from the malevolent spirits of the universe" (1975, p. 136).

Cleland, Densmore, and McClurken discuss the importance of the Society

in perpetuating knowledge and skill related to herbal curing, as well as

helping to bring about cures with their rites.

48

Dewdney's documention and analysis of birchbark scrolls, as used by
members of the Grand Medicine Society, help in understanding their mythic
and religious symbolism. Representations of the circle, the Path of life, and
the thunderbird and the underwater panther, among others, are analyzed in
depth as related to the Mide' ceremony. The following is an example of
Dewdney's observations:

I prefer to consider both the Thunder Birds and the monster snakes as

part of the behavioral environment of these Indians . . . Both are 'real'

in the sense that they have actual effects upon behavior. In the broader

Ojibway context there was a tendency, never explicit, to distinguish

between manitos referred to in the plural-as in Thunderbirds--and

the same manito as a singular entity-as in the Thunderbird. In this

sense the Thunderbird symbolizes all threats to man from the sky,

especially lightning, and may be grouped with the Great Lynx (or lion)

Misshipeshu, associated with death by drowning" (1975, p. 39).

In describing the origin of the Midewiwin through myth, Basil Johnson
provides us with an insight into the power associated with the thunderbird
and spirits such as the underwater panther. He relates a tale of the Spirit of
the Underworld who teaches the Anishnabeg the ritual to ward off sickness
and death by teaching them chants and giving them medicines:

From now on, the six messengers were to teach their sisters and

brothers . . . But before sending the messengers forth into the four

corners of the world, Makataeshigun assured them that with the
protection of the Thunderbirds and the faith of the Anishnabeg, the

medicine would endure (1982, p. 98).

Within the spiritual realm, the shaman had various powers. The
medicine man, as shaman/healer, had great influence over the powers of the
supernatural due to his special associations. Cleland sets forth the three levels
of shamans recognized by the Anishnabeg in the nineteenth century:

Jessakkid, Wabeno, and Mashkikikewinnini. Jessakikid was a seer and

prophet whose power was bestowed by the thunderbird. Wabeno represented

 

(OH
HUI

son

bur.
diff
indi

imp

her
indn

Sofie

49

the spiritual specialist who had obtained his power from a dream vision. He
was skilled in divination, magic and spells related to hunting, gaming and love
matters. lastly, the mashkikikewinnini, meaning medicine man, was a
specialist (often a woman) who had detailed knowledge of the mysteries of
plants, roots, berries and herbs (1992, p. 69).

Dewdney, in tracing the origins of the Midewiwin, discusses the
socializing force of the shaman. In considering the how, where, when and
why of the society's origin, Dewdney suggests that we must look to the region
west of Sault Ste. Marie on Lake Superior in the eighteenth century for all
four answers. He feels that at the time of the Mide's inception, shamanism had
been "exclusively visionary, amoral, and in the hands of individuals without
any effective pressure to exercise social responsibility," but "the developing
communities needed a unifying cult in which the shamans banded together to
nurture positive, health-giving values, and eliminate the kinds of vindictive
sorcery that created community suspicion and fears" (1975, p. 170).

Art historian Pasztory (1982), in defining shamanism, points out that
hunting and part-time agricultural societies such as the Great Lakes Indians
differ from those of the Pueblo, an agricultural society, since they practice
individual shaminism, where the rattle and drum and curing rituals are
important. The Mide' society's ritual of death and rebirth emphasizes
dramatization, and is an external articulation of the individual experience. In
her discussion, Pasztory echoes Cleland's statement that the experience is more
individual than communal, as in other cultures. In describing the Mide'
society, she says:

The Mide Lodge represents the cosmos, with posts topped by birds that

represent the cosmic tree erected in the center. . . The society also owns

birch bark scrolls on which the origins of the society are depicted. One
of these scrolls represents the Mide lodges of the four grades as replicas

50

of the original Mide lodge in the sky. The society was given to the
Ojibwa by a deity, who is represented on the scroll as an individual

shaman with power rays surrounding his head and a drum in his
hands." (p. 22) [see Fig. 4]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 4. A Mide' birchbark scroll; Pl. VIII, as illustrated by Hoffman (1885-86).

Anishnabeg World View Conceptions

This section includes a discussion of the belief system of the
Anishnabeg, providing an overview of their conceptualization of spiritual
relationships. It begins with the traditional beliefs held by the peoples of the

Three Fires, and concludes with those held by the Menomini.

51

The Three Fires

It is said the powers of manitous can be used for good or bad purposes.
But this world view, belief system, or "perception of reality," is not a simplistic
one; spirits are not either good or bad, black or white. They are a part of the
oneness or wholeness of the cosmos, and this seeming dichotomy is an integral
part of the Anishnabeg belief system.

From early times, an understanding of this world was revealed to the
Great lakes Indian through the oral tradition of myths. From childhood on,
the structure of the universe, the manitous, and their spheres of power was
explained through stories and mythic episodes, which recount the tales of
Nanabojo and his part in forming the world's features. Myths helped the
Anishnabeg interpret and control the forces within their world.

Through oral traditions, the Great lakes Indian understands the
structure of his or her world. It is a composite of Mother Earthnan island
floating on a sea of water, with a heaven beyond the dome of sky ruled by
thunderbirds, and an underworld which was inhabited by powerful manitous,
the most powerful being the underwater panther. This cosmos has been
variously described as "constructed like a layer cake covered by a dome"
(Cleland, 1992, p. 70), "three parallel worlds" (Phillips, 198, p. 23), a world
composed of earth, a "Sky World" and an "Underwater World" (Brasser, 1976, p.
24), and "the circle of life" (McClurken, 1991, p. 14) [see Fig. 5].

Phillips pictures this cosmos as earth-centered, with the underworld
below the great lake dominated by manitous who controlled the plants, animals
and fish. The underwater panther is the most powerful of these spirits, and is
in constant warfare with the thunderbirds who inhabit the realm of the upper

world, the area above the earth which arches like a huge dome of sky

52

"c- ‘ . .

‘ L‘;::”T"I }u
’ , 1'35} :2,5; V
1311,4195 ,- , .
. 5.. ,.. 19‘ ‘-

4.

._

' ~1‘\“““_\_‘-

 

Fig. 5 . Circular world view of the universe ("circle of life") sketched on
birchbark, with Midewiwin lodge in central portion. From the Collections of
the Public Museum of Grand Rapids. Reprinted with permission.

53

(1985, pp. 23-24). Both Cleland and Brasser divide the upper and lower worlds
into layers. Brasser includes the Plains Indians in his discussion and states
that there are four superimposed layers, inhabited by manitous whose powers
increase with their distance from earth. A cosmic Sacred Tree, a virtual axis
mundi, is rooted in the lower world and reaches into the upper world (Brasser,
1976, p. 24). Cleland describes all the powers beneath the surface of the earth's
waters as mishikinebik, which includes the underwater panther known as
michipishiew (or as misshipeshu and many other variations of spelling). The
air above the earth was inhabited not only by birds, but the mighty
thunderers, known as the thunderbird or animiki (1992, pp. 70-71). Two
female interviewees called these "nimkis," referring to thunderclouds. Also
important and powerful were the spirits of the cardinal directions and the
four winds of the north, south, east, and west that control the cycle of the
seasons. These were located in the upper world, along with the stars, and the
sun and moon (who ordered the day and night), and the cycle of the months.

McClurken, describing the beliefs of the Ottawa, discusses the
importance of the number four to the Great lakes Indians: their world has
four cardinal directions, four winds, and four stages of life (infancy,
childhood, adulthood, and old age). This number is also reflected in their world
view: there are four levels of the world (underwater, the land, the sky, and
the region beyond the sky), all linked in the circle of life. McClurken states
that the "circle boundary," or circle motif, was commonly found on their
clothing and art throughout the 17003 and 18003 (1991, pp. 14-15).

As with the Ojibwa and Ottawa, the Potawatomi believed in a dual
division in their world, somewhat paralleling their spiritual beliefs. It aligned
the total population, female and male, young and old, on two sides, based on

their birth order. "The first, third, and fifth born were assigned to the 'senior

54

side', wsk es, and the second, fourth, and sixth born to the 'junior side', kisk 0"
(Clifton, 1978, p. 733). This was a socializing mechanism, primarily used in
organizing teams for games, and for some rituals.

Clifton points to the importance of the supernatural in the lives of the
Potawatomi, suggesting that each clan's "corporate property" before contact
may have been the sacred bundle, or pickos'an, (1978, p. 730). Each sacred
bundle had an origin myth associated with it, telling how a certain individual
received the bundle and its powers, usually through a vision quest or dream.
The bundles contained powerful mementos and fetishes, for the Potawatomi
believed that the clans and bundles had been given by a sacred guardian in a
consecrated relationship. These sacred bundles today embody the same
spiritual power.

Wilbert (1973) considers this type of view of life as being a part of the
participatory universe, or a view with an anthropocentric outlook. Although
Wilbert is describing the Warao Indians of Venezuela, this concept aptly fits
the world view of the Great lakes Indian: Man conceives of himself as living
in the center of a "terrestrial disk and at the foot of the world axis that
connects the earth with the zenith and the cosmic vault." His life is one of
interdependency or mutuality that exists between himself and the

supernatural world (1973, p. 163, including footnote 1).

The Menomini

Although the Menomini are not one of the Three Fire tribes of the Great
lakes, they are a neighboring tribe of nearby Wisconsin. A summary of their
history and world view is given as a point of comparison, to note similarities

and dissimilarities of beliefs and practices, since historically they had lived

55

with the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi. Their material culture is also a rich
source for the thunderbird and underwater panther images.

The Menomini peoples, historically located in the Green Bay region of
Wisconsin and the surrounding waters of Lake Michigan and lake Superior,
represent a Great lakes Indian culture outside the predominant region of the
Three Fires of Michigan. Their lifestyle was similar in that they lived, for
example, in a band system during the fur-trading era. As with the Three Fires,
the requirement to live on a reservation changed their means of subsistence
and livelihood to one of a sedentary nature. Their culture and lifeways, too,
began to change, and the band system disintegrated.

Their material culture of the pre-contact period was similar to that of
the people of the Three Fires. With the exception of hunting, fishing, and
religious/sacred objects, the women made or prepared virtually all items.
Skinner (1921) points out their well developed geometric art, and the use of
the highly conventionalized figures in their art work, such as the designs on
medicine pouches; however, around 1830, a new phase in their art began. As
with all the Woodland cultures, commercial cloth and beads replaced animal
skins and quills. Their artwork became very elaborate, with floral motifs
becoming dominant. As well, new colors and dyes replaced traditional ones.

In their world view, the Menomini give extreme importance to the
dream, ceremonial organizations, myths, and stories. The dream/vision is the
means for securing power. The vision quest, or puberty fast, provides the
means for attainment of a personal guardian. According to the Spindlers
(1971, 1978), the significant ceremonial groups are those associated with
medicine people and spiritual groups. These are the early Thunder or
wa 'panows, and the Buffalo Dance or ce sahkows ("shaking tent") cults. The

earliest post-European contact group, according to the Spindlers, is the

56

Medicine Lodge Society, or mete 'wen, "probably of Chippewa origin" (1978).
Myths and stories, as well, relate and instill cultural values and ethics.

The world view of the Menomini is similar in many ways to that of the
peoples of the Three Fires. Their religious/spiritual conception of the world
were first documented by the early Jesuit missionaries and fur traders of the
late seventeenth century, who give accounts of beliefs which are like those
described by Hoffman (1890) and Skinner (1921). It is a very complex
cosmology, envisioned as a world that is divided into three layers. The earth,
one layer, is a floating island in a vast sea, and divides the universe into an
upper and lower realm, each comprised of four tiered layers. Within each
layer are beings, whose powers increase with their distance from Mother
Earth. Residing over all is a Great Spirit, the sun (Skinner, 1921, p. 29). In
descending order, beginning with the highest tier, one finds the
Thunderbirds and the Morning Star, the golden or war eagles and the white
swan, and other species of birds, headed by the bald eagle. Below the earth is
the Horned Hairy Serpent, the 'great serpent,‘ who inhabits lakes and streams.
The White Deer is below, and then the Great Underground Panther. The most
remote is the Great White Bear "with a copper tail," the traditional ancestor of
the Menomini tribe, and "the main power for evil" (Spindler, 1978, p. 711).

As with the cultures of the Ojibway, Ottawa, and Potawatomi, the
Menomini world view is one of a world peopled with humans and animals, with
no separation between. In their material culture, the thunderbird and
underwater panther are found in pictographs on ritual birchbark or animal
skins. These were often used as wrappings for various sacred bundles, which
transported objects such as venerated medicines and "thunder eggs." Inside

the wrappings, woven "bundles" or bags often held depictions of the

57

thunderbird and/or the panther. Also, inscribed birchbark scrolls were used
in their ceremonial rites, as well as by storytellers.

In conclusion, there is great similarity in early Menomini material
culture, lifestyles, and beliefs, to that of the peoples of the Three Fires. Their
traditional spiritual world is complex, with different beings of varying
powers. The Menomini experienced cultural changes due to contact with

Europeans paralleling those of the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi.

CHAPTER 4
THE THUNDERBIRD AND UNDERWATER PANTHER

Information in this chapter is based on interviews, as well as primary
and secondary written materials.

Cosmological Place of the Thunderbird and
the Underwater Panther

The thunderbird and the underwater panther are a part of a circle of
totality which embodies the Anishnabeg's world view.

That's what we go by - in a circle. We hold council in a circle, we do

circles-~healing circles, talking circles. There's so many of them. We

believe in the circle of life. (Peter)
In this totality, the thunderbird resides in the high space above earth, while
the underwater panther resides below the waters--whether they be the waters
of the Great lakes or other bodies of water (Cleland, 1992, p. 71). According to
interviewee Ted, the panther may reside in "any body of water."

The powers and attributes of the thunderbird and underwater panther
are communicated to succeeding generations by the Great lakes Indian
through stories, tales, and myths. These beings are found in many mythic
contexts. They are tied to rites and rituals in societies such as the Midewiwin.
Not only are they important in dreams and visions (particularly the

thunderbird), but are connected with the creation myths (Dewdney, 1975).

S8

59

They are actors in stories which Christians may equate with those from the
Bible, such as the flood, and Jonah and the whale. Primarily they are actors in
a seemingly age-old antagonism between the "heavenly" spheres and those of
the aquatic/subterranean spheres. In myth, thunderbirds personify light and
the underwater panther is representative of darkness. These spirits or forces
are in constant conflict with each other. As actors in other events, they are at
times symbolic of ambiguities, of dichotomies, and of oppositions. The
thunderbird is portrayed in both positive and negative association with the
terrestrial and subterranean worlds, and in generally positive relations with
humans, whereas the underwater panther is most often shown as a threat or
danger to man.

Danger associated with the underwater panther is evident in the
following story related by a prominent Ojibwa, William Warren, in 1885. Here
the panther appears intimately connected with death, for, as a great serpent, it
is an obstacle for the soul to overcome on its journey on the Road of Souls.
Warren provides for us a view of the Ojibwa's concept of death and fear of
mishipishiew:

The Ojibway believes his home after death to lie westward . . . The soul . .

. stand[s] immediately after the death of the body, on a deep beaten path,

which leads westward; the first object he comes to in following this

path, is the great Oda-e-min . . . strawberry, which stands on the
roadside like a huge rock, and from which he takes a handful and eats
on his way. He travels on till he reaches a deep, rapid stream of water,
over which lies the much dreaded Ko—go—gaup-o—gun or rolling and
sinking bridge; once safely over this as the traveller looks back it
assumes the shape of a great serpent swimming, twisting and

untwisting its folds across the stream. After camping out for four

nights, and traveling each day through a prairie country, the soul

arrives in the land of spirits, where he finds his relatives accumulated

since mankind was first created; all is rejoicing, singing and dancing.
(reprint 1984, p. 73)

60

One finds many explicit stories, adventures, and descriptions in myths
and in folktales about these powerful spirits. The thunderbird is portrayed as
the Thunderer, who beats upon his drum and brings rain to nourish all, who
destroys evil, who rules over the Mide' lodge, and is wise in council. The
underwater panther is variously represented as an obstacle with hidden power
in the form of a rolling or sinking bridge (as Warren describes above), or as a
quaking log (Ritzenthaler, 1972, p. 42), or a stump. The panther, however, does
transport humans across rivers and lakes upon the receipt of gifts of tobacco
[see Appendix B for additional insight about these beings through stories].

The underwater panther continues to appear in contemporary
literature. Its presence, within modern context, is alluded to by Ojibwa writer
Louise Erdrich (1989) in her story IraLks. The tale of Nanapush (Nanabush),
the Anishnabeg cultural hero, and other folk characters, is retold and
reinterpreted in a contemporary setting. In this story, the spirit in the lake is,
and remains, a powerful force.

These beings are associated with games, too. The thunderbird is the
patron of the Indian game lacrosse. Hoffman, for example, makes this
association based on a legend about the origin of the game. According to the
legend, Manabush (Nanabojo), the folk hero of the Menomini, initiated the
game and invited the Thunderers to join him in destroying the evil
underground manitous, who were instrumental in the death of his brother,
the Wolf (1890, pp. 249-251). Stan Cuthand who observed a game in the 19403
in lac la Ronge, Minnesota, also expressed the fearsomeness of the panther:

Before I went north, I had never heard of the Crazy Woman.

Nor was I familiar with the Great Lynx. But in Stanley Mission, on the

Churchill River...children used to play a game called Misipisiw. It was a

tag type game in which the child who was the Great Lynx would throw

the other kids into the water. To them the word meant 'to be feared."
(Brown & Brightman, 1988, p. 193)

61

The thunderbird, like the underwater panther, has been re-interpreted
in the context of Christian religion, as related by Cuthland in this story from
the same area/period:

Once I was visiting Chief Nehemiah Charles during a thunder storm.

Although it was hot and muggy, he refused to have the door open

because he was concerned about Thunderbirds. When I suggested that

they were only mythical beings, he said he could prove they existed
because they were referred to in the Bible. He found a section of the
scripture which said in English, 'and the thunder shall come'; in

syllabics it read 'and the thunderbird shall come.’ (Brown 8:

Brightman, 1988, p. 193)

As evidenced in the oral traditions, and as we shall see in the material

culture, these beings essentially occupy parts, or poles, which are opposite

within the whole cosmology.

Aspects and Characteristics of
the Thunderbird and the Underwater Panther

The thunderbird, resembling the eagle or falcon, has been described by
McClurken (1991) as "the most ancient and powerful of beings" (p. 14).
Cleland, Dewdney, Penney and Phillips variously characterize this spirit as
incorporating the essence of power: when it flashes its eyes it causes
lightning, or it is hurled from its talons; thunder is created by its flapping
wings; and great storms in the heavens are caused by its casting of
thunderbolts at the underworld manitos. Thunder and lightning are most
frequently associated with the thunderbird and its power.

Thunder is characterized by motifs such as "jagged zigzag lines which
represent the thunder and lightning they generate" (Phillips, 1984, p. 25), and

hourglass symbols which suggest the thunderbirds' chests and tails. Black also

62

symbolizes thunderbirds, representing the dark clouds in which they travel,
usually in pairs. One may invoke these spirits in prayer by shaking a rattle,
causing a sound that evokes thunder (Brasser, 1976, p. 26; Ojibwa interviewees
and artists, Alice Fox and Barbara Tazelaar) [see Fig. 6(a)].

Positive attributes that are associated with the thunderbird are its
connections with the blessings of rain, fertility, and warmth. The
thunderbird is not worshiped in the winter, for it lives in the south during the
cold months, bringing warmth in the spring when it returns north. Hoffman
refers to the thunderbirds who arrive in the spring as "they who revivify the
earth" (1885-86, p. 275).

The thunderbird is also associated with the creation myth. According to
a tale told to Dewdney by Red Sky, a southern Ojibway Indian, the thunderbird
created the big storm that caused a flood (at God's command) similar to that
recorded in the Bible. Dewdney felt this association is most likely due to post-
European religious contact (1975, p. 30).

Christian Feest (1986) discusses the universality of the thunderbird in
association with prowess in war, as does Ted Brasser (1976), who relates the
image and idea to the symbol of male aggression. Brasser, however, also
stresses the opposite view of the thunderbird as representing the symbol of
peace and friendship, as evidenced in smoking the peace pipe.

The importance and power of the thunderbird within the belief system
of the Anishnabeg are evident in many legends and creation myths, as well as
in ritual. Its placement in the heavens, close to the Great Manitou, attests to
the hierarchy in which the thunderbird is placed. In some myths, it is
associated with the sun, another important manitou (Phillips, 1984, p. 24). The
thunderbird, in addition, had the power to see into the future. Hoffman, in

describing its image on a Mide' birchbark, characterizes the image having

63

"waving lines extending forward from the eyes, denoting powers of peering
into futurity" (1885-86, p. 288). The receiver of this manitou's power through
a vision quest or a dream was considered blessed and fortunate because of the
attributes ascribed to the thunderbird. Also, the power of seers and prophets
was bestowed by these animiki, and accordingly they were regarded with both
respect and fear (Cleland, 1992, p. 69 and p. 71).
Radin was told of special ceremonies and objects associated with the
thunderbird, and also the panther:
[The] tcingabasin stone (Thunder Rite) . . . is a peculiarly-shaped stone
which is worshiped by the Indians. A red ribbon is tied around it,
tobacco placed on top of it and the stone then turned toward the west.
After this has been done the Thunder spirits are called and the Indians
begin to dance around the stone for a while. . . .
Every year people had to give a feast in honor of the animal who had
blessed them. At this feast they dance and tobacco and whatever are
offered: If it is the water-spirit, they pour whiskey into the river, lake,
etc. For other spirits except the Thunderbird, they sprinkle whiskey in

the fire. For the Thunderbird they tie tobacco, in ribbons, around the
sacred stones. (1926 field notes)

The underwater panther, referred to in some sources as the water spirit
or water monster, is an image or symbol of great significance, too. Most
authors point to the dichotomy between the birds of the sky and underwater
animals. Many attempt to make a distinction between evil snakes, panthers,
and fish, yet I propose that these beings all essentially express some of the
essence of the panther--of the world below, with its mystery and sense of the
subconscious, the unknown. Barnouw (1977) implies such an interconnection
when discussing the feud which existed between these creatures, "especially
between thunderbirds and snakes, although thunderbirds were also enemies

of underwater panthers, lions, or lynxes, termed micipijin, which were said to

ben

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64

be made partly of copper" (p. 133). James Howard (1960) also concludes that
"in many Algonquian-speaking groups the concept of the Horned Serpent
tends to blend with that of the Underwater Panther" (p. 217).

Differing from the thunderbird, the description of the underwater
panther generally found is one of a fabulous composite image [Fig. 6(b), lower
picture]. French missionary Allouez, in 1666, tells of the Ottawas conception:

They hold in very special veneration a certain fabulous animal which

they have never seen except in dreams, and which they call Missibizi,

acknowledging it to be a great genius, and offering it sacrifices in order
to obtain good sturgeon-fishing. (Thwaites, 1959, 5_Q, p. 289)

This spirit is portrayed as being of an enormous size with a long dragon-like
tail, a powerful feline body, with brassy, coppery scales (or short yellow fur),
four legs and a head with sharp teeth and horns. The underwater panther, or
michipishiew, is variously described as a "giant horned snake or monster"
(Penney, 1989, p. 11), as cat-like, a lion or a lynx (Phillips, Cleland, Dewdney,
& Barnouw). Barnouw says that the concept of the mishipishiew as a panther,
lion or lynx "may refer to pumas or cougars (which can swim), found in the
Great lakes region until fifty or more years ago" (1977, p. 133). Phillips
alludes to such an association in describing its image as "perhaps based on the
lynx's tufted ears" (1989, p. 58).

The tail and horns are mishipishiew '3 centers of power, as pointed out
by Barnouw (1977), and by Ewers (1981) who describes the "water monsters"
within Plain's Indian art. Coe adds that "horns always indicate the
supernatural state" (1977, p. 73). Feest goes so far as to say that "these beings
wear pairs of horns or antlers and it is generally assumed that they are the
source of power for sorcerers and witches" (1986, p. 10). Pasztory (1985),

discussing North American Indian art and shaminism, says that animals of

6S

 

Fig. 6(a). Cradleboard decoration with thunderbirds. Ngt_e. From "59' 1011.
Nfijggl" Profiles of Canadian Indian Art, by T. J. Brasser, 1976, p. 93, #NMMIII-
G—848. Copyright 1976 by the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Reprinted with

perm1331on.

66

 

Fig. 6(b). Potawatomi twined panel bag. The Detroit Institute of Arts, #81372.
Reprinted with permission.

67

religious power possess abilities that humans don't have, and they are often
represented as "composite," a further indication of their magic powers.

Thus, one may discern the many guises of the underwater panther. This
spirit is known variously by different tribes. Among the Winnebago, the
panther is described as having a copper tail. The Saulteaux call him a Horned
Water Snake. To the Chippewa, or Ojibwa, the Ottawa, and Potawatomi, it is a
panther or lynx, and the Menomini also think of this spirit as a great fish.

Mishipishiew is associated with water and the underworld, for it lives
"beneath waters of lakes and rivers" (Penney, 1989, p. 11) . Violent storms and
disturbances on water, creating whirlpools, are caused by the swirling or
lashing of its long tail. Yet despite the panther's association with danger and
death, the whirlpool is also the channel or path to the panther's presence
(Phillips, 1989), as are other openings in the earth. Cleland reports that these
creatures

. . . occasionally made their appearance by emerging on the surface of

the Great lakes or through 'faults' between the surface and the

underworld such as caves, crevices, or whirlpools. It is said they could

travel by means of underground rivers to appear in certain inland
lakes (1992, p. 71).

Lyford (1982) discusses and labels the panther designs from Ojibwa bags and
birchbark as "underground panthers," attesting to these associations.

Missionary Rasles, writing in 1666, describes methods of sacrifice in
order to appease the panther:

They call the Manitou of the water and fishes Michibichi; and they
offer him a somewhat similar sacrifice when they go to fish, or
undertake a voyage. This sacrifice consists of throwing into the water
tobacco, provisions, and kettles; and in asking him that the water of the
river may flow slowly, that the rocks may not break their canoes, and
that he will grant them an abundant catch. (Thwaites, _61, pp. 159-

161)

101
the
DE]

68

Not only water, but fire, is associated with mishipishiew. Feest claims
that "whereas the Thunderers are, of course, in charge of rain, the
underworld beings are often seen as being in charge of fire" (1986, p. 10).
However, Hoffman, writing in 1890, states that the Menomini of Wisconsin
associate the thunderbird with fire—making (pp. 244-45). (Perhaps they make
this connection and thus link the phenomenon with the thunderbird because
of fires caused by lightning.) Mishipishiew is also said to fear thunder because
of its association with its arch-enemy, the thunderbird. An Ottawa told Radin
in the early 19003 that a certain bird is always seen together with the water-
spirit [underwater panther]. The bird protects the panther against the
thunderbird, telling it when there are clouds about (1926 field notes).

But it must be noted that some writers indicate the "good" as well as
"evil" nature of the underwater panther. Curative powers are associated with
the panther: copper, treasured as healing amulets, are believed to come from
the horns and scales of its body; and medicinal plants are believed to be
nourished from below by this being. Brasser claims there is a relationship to
the "female aspect, herbal knowledge and witchcraft" (1976, p. 25). Coe and
Densmore (1929) discuss mishipishiew 's curative powers of healing and
association to medicine, as does Phillips, who says that they "could bestow good
things on human beings; they controlled the healing medicines that grew in
the earth and enriched people who were able to steal pieces of copper from
their horns and tails" (1984, p. 24). As Phillips suggests, the possession of
copper generally implied a blessing from this underground spirit, and anyone
who had such a treasure was a "wealthy" person indeed. Mishipishiew may

further be viewed as protective, transporting innocent people across streams

69

away from danger, while "malevolent people are drowned" (Barnouw, 1977, p.
136).

With these general understandings about the thunderbird and
underwater panther, how are their aspects and the roles they play symbolized
for the Anishnabeg? What is a symbol, and how does it function within

material culture?

Images as Symbols

It is important to understand how the concept of symbol will be used in
this study. Webster's jlhird International Dictionary (1981) defines symbol as
"something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relation-
ship, association, convention, or accidental but not intentional resemblance;
especially, a visible sign of something . . . that is invisible" (p. 2316). All of
this definition is pertinent to the discussion of symbol, particularly the last
phrase. And the following ideas will illuminate and expand the meaning.

Turner (1977) describes symbols as "multivocalic or polysemic,"
meaning that one symbol may stand for many things. He further adds that by
their nature, symbols have the ability to unify and condense a wide range of
disparate ideas and relationships into one. In his study of Ndembu rituals,
Turner classifies symbols as dominant or contingent, roles also assumed by
these Anishnabeg symbols. Dominant symbols are those which are primary in
one situation, and may be secondary in another (1975, p. 162). Mudyi, the milk
tree, for example, is a dominant symbol for Ndembu puberty initiation rites.
This tree gives forth a white secretion which has become associated with milk
and the nurturing role of women. Contingency, for Turner, is an "attribute of

a more prominent symbol," or is subsidiary to a greater connotation (1975, p.

 

IIIU

(OI

011E
meg
Ilsr.
up
he:

Or 81';

70

202). Color may be a characteristic of a contingent symbol. In Ndembu rites,
whiteness, in a different role, is contingent when it symbolizes the authority
of the elders. Or the whiteness of Moby Dick, for example, is "subsidiary to his
murderousness" (Turner, 1975, p. 202). Turner also says of symbols in ritual

context:

For the Ndembu the ritual symbol is not a mere system of referents but a
source of power-dangerous if misused but capable of domestication.
Harnessed, it may be used to bring blessing, avert catastrophe, reconcile
the moody dead with the living and the angry living with one another.
(1962, p. 78)
The idea of symbols as sources or carriers of power, creating a bridge to the
spiritual and mystical, echoes in Ted's thoughts about Anishnabeg symbols:

You have to take a leap of faith in some of these things . . . Several

things, like shooting a person with an otter skin bag, sounds pretty

weird, a "tell-me-about-it" sort of thing. But it injects powers, and that
is what I mean by having to take things on faith.

Symbols also may be conscious and unconscious carriers of power. The
otter skin bag performs both roles. It is the embodiment of the otter and the
megis held inside (and their roles within the rite) conceived of consciously.
Also, the bag unconsciously transports the participant into a spiritual state of
expectation before the action begins. Dress, too, is powerful in performing
these roles. As Marilyn Horn states, "symbolism in dress is often unconscious,
but a symbol used consciously can be more powerful" (1981, p. 310).

Some scholars acknowledge the symbol as an indicator of social values.
In her examination of nineteenth century New England frocks, Wright says
the frock, functionally, resembles a woman's apron, for it protects workday

clothes; however, it connotes more than practicality. It "carried an emotional

or symbolic . . . meaning" (Wright, 1991, p. 25). The frock symbolizes "sturdy

 

Ya!

du'

71

Yankee farmer values." Calvin Coolidge used this connotation to advantage
during his campaign by being photographed wearing his grandfather's frock
(Wright, 1991, p. 25).

Symbol is this and much more. It is also a connector. For example,
Gordon (1987), in her analysis of a whimsey, a beaded novelty item, considers
this object to be the symbol of interaction between persons of the Tuscarora
Indian culture and the white tourist culture. The whimsey is the focal point of
cultural contact between two different groups. She examines it in relation to
its own significance and contextual meaning given by the maker, as well as its
meaning to the user/purchaser from another culture. Glassie (1973), too,
speaks of the object as functioning like a connector. The object is the link
between the person at the center and various contexts [refer to Fig. 1(b)]. The
object symbolizes the "dynamic" possibilities of the artifact studied within the
model, for it can be conceptualized as "dually complementary" and
"simultaneously multifunctional" (p. 335). Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-

Halten, in discussing the etymology of symbol, equate it to a coupler:

In ancient Greek, sym-ballein meant to "throw together," or to "join."
The phrase came to designate a coin that two friends break in half,

each with the hope of reuniting. When the two friends would meet
again, the joining of the two half coins signified the relationship
between the two persons, so the separation of the coin served the larger
purpose of unity. Thus symbol originally meant that which brings
people together. It is significant that the opposite of sym-ballein is
M19131, to "throw apart," or "separate," which is the root of our word
for "diabolic," the essence of evil. (1981, p. 40)

Buttimer (1985) speaks of contextual meaning in relation to cosmology
and place, stating that there is a necessity to investigate these important
aspects of a culture: "Symbols per se are obviously not adequate to facilitate

mutual understanding . . . [and] cannot be interpreted correctly until placed in

72

the context of a civilization's physical milieu and cosmology" (p.261).

Mackenzie (1926), writing earlier than Buttimer, spoke of place and
warned that it is incorrect to assume that symbols found in one part of the
world have the same significance as in another. Welters and Kuhn (1993),
investigating clothing as symbols of cultural meaning, studied symbols of the
ancient goddess Mara of Iatvia. They discovered that the zigzag motif is
associated with the goddess. It is interesting that this motif is also associated
with the thunderbird and underwater panther.

Some of the symbols that Mackenzie presents and discusses may perhaps
be thought of as archetypal, in that they seem to carry a basic meaning or
connotation across cultures. For example, the spiral would be considered an
archetypal symbol. In Chinese culture, the whirlwind or whirlpool (a form of
spiral), is the carrier of gods, the lifegiver, and is a symbol associated with
dragons. Asian societies conceive of the dragon as giving birth to the new
year, and as the bringer of fertility and nourishing rains. The dragon was
known as a "thunderer." The spiral was also closely associated with the wind
god, for "as a 'life-giver,' [the spiral] was thus a symbol of the thunder-god, as
well as of the whirlwind god. Both in China and Japan . . . the spiral was at
once the 'thunder roll' and the 'dragon-roll'" (Mackenzie, 1926, p. 68). Thus,
the whirlpool or spiral can be interpreted as the embryo, the
beginning/manifestation of the source of natural energy, the source of life, of
magic, of the Great Mystery.

Though there are images which may possess a "generic" meaning, it
may be impossible to know the precise meaning. Peter, for example, says:

They've probably got symbology here, if they tell you [looking at

an image on an object]. It all depends on the person. Then if we go the
other route, then we could say this is what this guy was trying to say,

73

and I don't think, myself, [that] we . . . have a right to interpret
somebody's "whatever-it-was," unless it is quite understandable there.
. . . Assumption is a very scary type of thing because we assume what
the person meant . . .

We had a girl by here. She was going down the line, but she told
us to meet her at the bus stop because she had a twenty minute break
there, so we went . . . And in that twenty minutes we talked and my son
came in, and he wanted to talk to her too, or so I assumed. O.K. And
before we left-that terminal was full of people that drink-a bar, it's a
bar setting, and I don't drink, and my wife doesn't drink. And as I'm
getting up, I say to my wife, "let's get out of here. These young people
have a lot to talk about and I don't feel comfortable here." So we left. A
couple of weeks down the line, we get a letter from this girl. . . . She said,
"I'm very sorry, but we were so tired, getting off that bus and having
coffee. But we're so sorry that we made you uncomfortable." That's
what she told us. Thank God that she wrote that letter, so I immediately
got on the phone and phoned her up and said, "You had that all wrong.
It wasn't you that made us uncomfortable. It was the people there, the
setting, the drinking people there. That's why I wanted to get out of
there. Not you! We were so glad to see you. We should have stayed there
longer, but we realized that you wanted to talk to my son." But when l
was getting up and said to my wife, "Let's get out of here; I don't feel too
comfortable here," she took that to mean that she was making us
uncomfortable. The assumptions are, you know, sensitive. It's pretty
difficult sometimes to explain yourself lots of times--why you do this,
why this, why that. That's just a story to tell you about assumptions.

Meanings may also evolve from a created object, becoming an
unexpressed message that the artist and craftsperson had not intended or
realized was being expressed. Some deep seated statement of the culture from
which one comes may surface during the process of creation, and is seen later
by the observer. For example, Peter stated that, before he begins to paint, he
prays to his creator and asks his creator to "put into me the memories." In
thinking of symbols, do "memories" painted/created convey more than
initially intended or realized?

Another important aspect of symbol is its transformative and psychic
power. Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton, in discussing Jung's
distinctions between a sign (a relatively known thing) and a symbol (the
meaning of which is relatively unknown), point out these features:

A symbol is charged with psychic energy and transformative power
precisely because much of its meaning is unknown or unconscious.

74

Jung believed that unconscious drives included not only needs for
physiological satisfaction but also powerful desires for personal
development and spiritual union with the social and physical
environment. These strivings are expressed by the archetypal symbols
of the collective unconscious, like the rising sun or the swelling sea.

(1981, p. 24)

In conclusion, there are many aspects to symbols. Those which are most
relevant to this study are: symbols have the ability to unify and condense a
wide range of disparate ideas and relationships; they are conscious and
unconscious carriers of power; and they possess psychic energy and

transformative powers. They may play the role of dominance and

contingency.

The Thunderbird and the Underwater Panther as Symbols

The function of an artifact helps provide clues to an understanding of
the meaning of these symbols. One artifact in which the images frequently
appear is the skin bag (1780-1830). Various suggestions have been given for
the uses of the early quilled and dyed skin pouches which displayed these two
motifs. Penney feels that it is difficult to determine what these bags were to
hold, positing that they look much like medicine bags, and concludes that "the
sacred designs applied to the exterior . . . may allude to sacred materials . . .
kept inside" (1992, p. 69). Brasser, however, states that these bags were ritual
paraphernalia used by a short-lived organization in the mid-eighteenth
century probably called the Black Dance. This ritual group was "concerned
with hunting and war, reflecting the fur trade and colonial wars." Its
members were not like the Midewiwin society which focused on curing the

sick and preserving tribal culture, but rather represented two groups in ritual

75

opposition to each other, as the decorations of their pouches were of either the
thunderbird or of the underwater panther (1976, pp. 27-28).

The use of these early skin bags, with the sacred designs embroidered in
porcupine quills, are most likely sacred medicine bags such as were used in
the Midewiwin society and carried by individuals. They would have contained
herbs, as well as other special charms, all powerful. Densmore (1929) said:

[Charms] were of two classes . . . that comprised several units or

materials and . . . [those] consisting only of herbs. . . In both classes

there entered the belief that the supreme test of the power of a

substance was its ability to act independently of its material presence.

Thus an herb applied externally might cure the bite of a reptile, but it

was considered evidence of great power if an herb carried in a packet

could protect a man so effectively that he would not be bitten by the

reptile. The old-time Chippewa appear to have believed that matter has
two sorts of properties--one tangible and the other intangible. (p. 107)

Father Baraga, writing in L'Anse, Michigan in 1847, relates the strong
bond between a medicine bag and its owner: "Their medicine bag or sack is, in
their opinion, their greatest treasury. I saw Indians whose lodges burned
down during their stay in the fields, who regretted much more the burning of
their medicine bags, than the loss of all their property" (p. 39). Warren also
noted that the medicine bag was "seldom ever allowed a place in the common
Wigwam, but is generally left hanging in the open air on a tree . . . The
contents are never displayed without much ceremony" (1885, p. 68).

One interviewee related hearing of a collection of three small Ottawa
medicine bags that were used by a woman healer in the early nineteenth
century (perhaps a Mide' practitioner) which had the underwater panther
portrayed in quillwork. Each bag was successively smaller, one inside the
other, containing different herbs for use during the birthing process, the use

depending upon the severity of the situation. Anny's comments relate to this

76

aspect; she spoke of the panther "represent[ing] trickiness in the water," and
"healing from the earth." Correlating this to the medicine bags noted, the
underwater panther, a power related to water (birthing) and to earth (since it
nourishes/controls medicinal herbs [Phillips, 1984, p. 24]), assists through the
healing power of herbs in this mysterious, "tricky" process. Its power or
"spirit" dwells in the image, thus in the bag, and thus within the herbs.

Coe discusses the use of shoulder strap, or bandolier, bags and their
social importance: " [These bags] were carried as prestige objects, as many as
twelve (but usually one or two) being worn at one time. I They were sported at
meetings and on ceremonial occasions" (1977, p. 77). Gordon adds that they
were also for display:

The small functional carrier, whether slung on a shoulder strap or

suspended from the waist, had been part of the original cultural role,

and it became less and less necessary. Gradually, a larger, heavier and
more flamboyant form, used for purposes of display rather than

transport, took its place. (1992, p. 72)

It is important to understand the belief regarding symbols and their
powers as used in medicine bags for their potential meaning as related to all
other material culture. Densmore points out this connection as it relates to
dreams/symbols:

. . . by possessing some representation of a dream subject one could at

any time secure its protection, guidance and assistance. There seems to

be inherent in the mind of the Indian a belief that the essence of an
individual or of a "spirit" dwells in its picture or other representation.

(1929, p. 79)

Power becomes inherent in the object through the symbol, and is
transferred to the user, as suggested by Glassie and Csikszentmihalyi and

Rochberg-Halton. The presence of the thunderbird and panther on artifacts,

carried or worn, not only connect the user to these sacred beings, but give

77

power and protection. Dream symbols also can be connected to the
wearer/user through an artifact. Densmore (1929) describes dream symbols,
given to the dreamer or vision questor by the guardian spirit, as being
private:
Dream symbols were often painted on a man's blanket or on the
covering that hung before his wigwam door . . . All who saw it were
aware that the man had dreamed of a rainbow, the thunder bird, the
lightning, and the earth (the latter indicated by the circle); yet the
relation of these to one another and to the dreamer remained a secret
known only to himself and those to whom he revealed it. (p. 82)
Penney suggests that by incorporating these symbols into clothing and other
artifacts as made by women, the spiritual power becomes "generalized" rather
than "specific" or "secret" (1989, p. 11). The symbols are indications of
spiritual strength and sometimes suggest the social importance of the person
connected with the object. Protection, also, is implied. Items like baby
carriers were carved with dream symbols, or had items attached to them for

the protection of the baby. Two cradleboards examined [#86 & 87] incorporate

stylized geometric forms of the thunderbird.

Contemporary Interpretations of the
Thunderbird and the Underwater Panther

Many contemporary themes emerged during the interviews. The
thunderbird is described as an angel, a holy ghost, a holy spirit, a special
power, one who brings blessings, and a protector. The underwater panther,
too, inspires great veneration and respect, but is considered in more dualistic
terms--as a servant to the Anishnabeg, as the representation of physical and
"earthy" aspects of life, as "tricky," as the "King of Beasts," as a symbol for

future generations, and as a fearsome power. In describing the cosmological

78

place of the thunderbird and underwater panther, Mark says he thinks of
these beings as symbols for different worlds. The thunderbird symbolizes the

spiritual, while the panther is the connection to the physical world:

The tribes here in the Great lakes recognize that the highest power
resided above. It's common reference is Father Sky. It's always known,
because the people lived near the water. They had a real draw for what
took place there. A lot of food is scattered at or near the water for the
fish, wild rice, underwater animals. Some of those animals were very
illusive and little understood, to say in scientific terms. Such crafty
animals as that--the otters, the weasels, martens, erminesuthey all

live near the water, very powerful types of animals.

The idea of the significance of environment, the sense of place, and the "real

draw," reverberates too in statements that Peter makes:

This is why I've got good respect for this guy [the underwater panther].
I know what he's done, but. . . he does that today. I see that—the
rainbow; I see the salmon, and all these other things come up rivers.
And whitefish come up rivers. The suckers come up rivers at a certain
time of year. He sends them there for the people to eat. So the people
can salt. 80 the people can dry, or whatever. This is the guy that does
that. He controls the Great Lakes.

Well, he's [underwater panther] . . . in storytelling--he has his people
so well trained now that they know by him saying if his headquarters is
in lake Superior, then his work all goes through the Great Iakes-what
the fish are to do. So the fish know what to do because of this guy! If
they don't, then they have to deal with this guy. Because he's called the
King of Beasts. . . . and he's a water spirit, and he's the water panther,
and he's all that! And he communicates with man.

The thunderbird is described variously as:
0 powerful, controlling the upper regions of the world:

. . . power, like the thunderbirds, or even the eagles--the highest form.
The thunderbirds and the eagles are our highest form of belief. They
control the skies and see everything that is going on below, and they
still won't make judgements until they confer with the native Nishnabe
[Anishnabeg] people. (As told by Peter)

79

0 a wise leader, representing wisdom of the elders:

Alice told a story about the thunderbirds [see Appendix B (a)], as did
Peter, each representing a different aspect of their leadership.

0 protective:

In describing a painting entitled "The Lovers," (in which a Nishnabe
man is wearing a headdress that resembles the eagle/thunderbird, which
leans out and virtually covers the head of the woman standing next to him),
Peter says this is an act of protectiveness [see Fig. 7].

"I wanted to show this one kind of like protecting the panther," Yvonne
Keshick, Odawa/Ojibwa artist and interviewee stated, describing a quillbox she
had made incorporating images of both the thunderbird and underwater
panther [see Fig. 8(a)].

"The thunderbird hovers over and protects all. When he sees evil, he
m with lightning," related Jay.

0 as a messenger, an angel:

The thunderbird is often thought of as the equivalent of the Christian
idea of an angel, one who delivers messages, and is a guardian spirit. As
described by Yvonne:

[As a child] I hadn't really heard a whole lot about the thunderbird. He
was the symbol for the eagle. The eagle could fly the highest toward the
heavens. All the prayers were carried up with eagles towards the heavens,
and the little birds that came along, like chickadees and sparrows, they would
deliver the afterthoughts, or P.S.s, or the "by-the-way"s. They would fly those
messages up and the smoke helped lift the prayers up from sweet grass and
tobacco—helped lift them up to the heavens.

0 an embodiment of or bringer of "blessings":

Jay, of the eagle clan, tells a story of his visit to his brother's gravesite.

While he was there, a huge eagle came out of the woods and swooped around

him, somewhat frightening him. In telling his story later to a member of his

80

 

PE r-gfl I}. P"6‘N‘~r 19

Fig. 7. "The Lovers," acrylic painting by Peter Migwans; author's collection.

81

“\MWWH 4mm,

     

\.

L L" L L L
f .. LL 'TL :1 LL. ”WW

\§\

.\\\\\\‘\\

LEmfllfl‘

L}:
f

Fig. 8(a). Birchbark box quilled in natural porcupine quills by Yvonne Walker
Keshick; 1994; author's collection.

 

Fig. 8(b). Watercolor and ink painting of a thunderbird hatching, by Anny
Hubbard: c. 1994: author's collection.

82

tribe, he was told that this was "a blessing." This "blessing" implies not only

love and spiritual connection, but power, too. Hallowell mentions this:

The other-than-human grandfathers are sources of power to human
beings through the "blessings" they bestow, i.e., a sharing of their power
which enhances the "power" of human beings. (1960, p. 22)

The young thunderbird is humorously thought of as having

Wm, causing terrible spring storms with flashing lightning
and loud thunder [note Alice's story, Appendix B(a); Anny's painting Fig. 8(b)].
As thunderbirds grow older, they gain more control, through the wisdom of
experience. Humans also "learn how to behave" from lessons and stories of the

elders. Anny said:

There's places where those baby thunderbirds hatch up on the north
shore of lake Superior. That's why summer thunderstorms are so wild
and crazy, and that is because the baby thunderbirds don't know how to
control their energy yet, so you get all these forest fires because they
zap them, and they don't know how to control it. And they go south in
the winter, and when they come back in the spring, they're more sedate
and know how to behave.

The Wine: is viewed as:

0 an enigma, a paradox:

[The pair of panthers] is a symbol for us, teaching our younger
children about the panther, even though we don't really understand it,
telling them about it, and so that they will be familiar with it or have
some ideas on hearing about it. (as related by Yvonne)

[I see the underwater panther as] positive, or a paradox, type of deal.
We're dealing with a bad, bad, bad whatever it is. And after [the] trial,
[and] everything else, it becomes positive. So, to me today, any man or
woman can turn their life around. (as related by Peter)

The underwater panther is something that's in our world, even though
we don't understand what it is . . . Ottawas live in two worlds. We live in
our world and "down-in-that-society" world. So it's [the panther] in our
world. So the white interior on this box top [describing the quillbox she
had made; see Fig. 8(a)] is a symbol, like, for our worlduthe panther's
world. (as told by Yvonne)

83

Barbara also expressed the idea of living in two worlds, but said it is very hard
to do, for there are so many misconceptions about Native Americans today.
0 dangerous, and deserving respect

"They teach us not to be foolish in the water, and they teach us to
respect them." (Ted)

"This is why I've got good respect for this guy." (Peter)

0 a servant for the people, a provider for the people:

He's the down-below thing [see Fig. 9 (a) & (b)] . . . As far as legends go,

he communicates with man. . . . He knows now he cannot devour a man,

so now he's a servant for the Nishnabe, a Nishnabe servant. The
legends go that this guy's the only guy for that, but there's other guys.

There's other guys in Indian legends that come to mind. But this guy is

very important for fish, fish environment. (as told by Peter)

In a tale told to Paul Radin in the early 19003, the underwater panther
is the provider of the sacred and desired metal, copper. The story also tells of
its regenerative and renewing forces [see Chapter 5].

0 a feminine, feline-like energy, as described by Anny:

[Anny, describing a painting of two panthers] Bizhou against the

moon—you know how cat's fur stands up. That's kind of what that's

about. And there's the moon, and the water, which to me is very
feminine, very female.

There is, additionally, a sense of relationship between these beings and
place. Jay's story of the eagle arriving at the gravesite suggests connections
to place and sacredness. Others have told me of the arrival of eagles at
particularly special or sacred times. Relationship to place is alluded to by
Peter in his discussion of the underwater panther and its intimate association

with lake Superior. Yvonne also tells of its association to Wycamp lake,

locally and tribally known as Spirit lake, home of the panther:

84

 

Fig. 9(a). Acrylic painting, "lake Superior Serpent #2," by Peter Migwans.
Photograph by the author; from the Collections of the Jesse Besser Museum.

 

 

Fig. 9(b). Acrylic painting, "Gitche Gumme Underwater Panther," by Peter
Migwans. Photograph by the author; from the Collections of the Jesse Besser
Museum.

85

It's a very small lake, pretty shallow. It's got . . . standing birch, and
lots of wildlife around there. It's a campsite-~a wilderness campsite -
outhouses and pump. Other than that, it is woods. . . . [The committee
leader] went out there with a group to consider [the location] for an
elders council. Went out there, stood there and looked around, laughing
and talking, but they all felt kind of funny. The hairs stood up on his
[the leader's]neck . . . He was talking in a loud voice and told them that
this is Spirit lake and that this is the home of the underwater panther.
He said, "I don't think we belong here. We'd better get out of here."
They put tobacco down [and] said they weren't welcome there at that
time. The second time back they didn't feel that way. Everything was
OK.

Spatial placement/arrangement is suggested in stories, too. In Alice's
story [Appendix B(a)] of Nanabush travelling with the thunderbirds, there is a
sense of the horizontal flight plane, as well as the sensation of movement, of
these beings flying from west to east. They are grouped in an arrangement of
three, from oldest to youngest, perhaps suggesting a social order. As the
reader will see, artifacts, too, reflect these spatial conceptions.

When one considers the sacredness of relationships, not all parts of the
natural world holds this quality. When I asked Peter if a connection or
affiliation exists between the thunderbird and the eagle, the answer was yes,
but he also added that not all things are sacred:

Yes, the thunderbird symbol, the eagle, is the highest form, more or

less, . . . another one of the gifts of the Creator to be able to look at. . . .

We never pray at anything. We normally pray to the Creator. All the

other ones are symbols, like the white man uses the cup, chalice . . .

as a reminder. So all these other things—our sweetgrass, our sage, our

cedar, our tobacco-is used in that same respect. It becomes sacred
when we say it's sacred.

In most instances, particularly in ritual or ceremonial objects, the use
of the symbol is a visual means of communication, representing only one

aspect of experiencing these spiritual beings. All the senses, in rituals, are

86

employed: one dances, sings, uses instruments, burns tobacco or other sacred
plants, as well. A visual symbol is only a part of the totality of experience.
And finally, one can go beyond the symbol by articulating the name of
the spiritual being. Smith (1991) calls this "conjuring" the spirit, for the
name partakes of the essence of that which it names. He also refers to Paul
Tillich's concept of the "participatory" nature of the symbol (footnote 4, p. 20).
In this instance, one may say that the person involved is "transformed" into
the essence of the spiritual being, an idea that was expressed many times and
in many ways by those interviewed. As interviewee Mary expressed it,
Some words you don't just throw around. I've been told that in
ceremonies . . . Another thing I was told was you don't say the names of
several guides or sacred thingsuand they can be objects--or, like
"grandpa". . . [Y]ou don't say those words out loud unless you know what
you're doing, what you're talking about and can have established a
relationship with them.
In conclusion, two overriding themes appeared. First, the thunderbird
and the underwater panther are participants involved in helping create a
balance and a connection to all life in the universe. Both of these spiritual
beings are felt to be powerful forces which require respect. Part of this
respect is the unwritten law of not telling stories in the summertime, because
sacred beings' "ears may hear." Therefore stories are told in the wintertime
"when the snows blow," for there is more time for storytelling, which Anny
thinks lends a "practical aspect." Both of these beings are integral to the
Anishnabeg concept of the circle of life. The thunderbird and underwater
panther are major "personages" who are vital in creating a balance. They
each are a part in creating a unification of separate yet interrelated worlds.

Secondly, there is an overwhelming sense that many traditions have

been lost, which resulted from dominance by European cultures and the

87

necessity to acculturate to a white society's expectations. Anny said it was

caused by "Inquisition-minded Europeans", and Ted related this viewpoint:

I didn't really have that kind of instruction [in spiritual practices].

My great-grandfather could have done that, but they had been going
through life in the '303 and '403 as pretty oppressed people, and they
wanted their kids, just like any immigrant family, to be American and
be able to flourish in that society. They avoided being discriminated
against. It was so much more clearly stated or pervasive at that time.

I think they succeeded. Of course, as I returned to spiritual ways, I did
not understand. It's really sad we do not have a language, and really sad
we did not know the traditional teachings. And then, being an older
person, I recognize that those people did get pretty much what they
were looking for because my generation of folk obviously can still find
and practice the old ways. I would have liked the balance to be a little
different. I would like to have had more traditional teachings, like the
old days.

Mary explained that the Anishnabeg are now trying to revitalize and recover
their traditions:

[There are] a lot of people who feel [the need] . . . to keep themselves in
balance, people who live in the cities and have a lot of contact with
foreign culture. They have to, E have to, revitalize ourselves more
frequently. We have people who . . . are able to keep their thoughts in
day to day living more "Indian." They don't need their cleansing or
renewal as often as other people. So it's very common, throughout the
Great Lakes area, for there to be at least four days a year, or sets of four
days a year, when we will come together in an isolated setting, where
there are no telephones, no TVs, no MT‘Vs; and they can renew
themselves and strengthen themselves.

The Thunderbird and the Underwater Panther As Found
in Material Culture

This section includes a discussion of the artifacts from the sample placed
within six general eras, or time periods. It concludes with a specific discussion

related to the bags and pouches.

88

Pre-contact Period - Before 16303

An examination of pre-contact artifacts which contained the
thunderbird and underwater panther images helped to determine what forms
were being used in Michigan before the influence of European cultures. All
objects examined from this period were either of stone or shell. I examined
twenty-two of a larger collection of delicate shale discs (averaging 2-3 cm in
width and 1 mm thick) from the late Woodland period (AD. 1300 to 1450)
excavated from four sites near the mouth of Thunder Bay in Alpena, Michigan,
now located in the Jesse Besser Museum [see Fig. 10]. They are important finds,
as they represent the first evidence of such symbols in prehistoric Michigan.
The stylistic designs of the images indicate that there are variations by
individual makers, but also reveal a common mythology and a common stylistic
tradition (Cleland, Clute and Haltiner, 1984; Cleland, 1985). Representations of
the panther include these consistent elementsua long tail, horns on the head,
clawed feet, and plates, usually triangular, down the back. As described by the
archaeologists, the thunderbird displays "the use of a transverse line to
indicate the top edge of the wing or the vault of the sky, the body and tail [are]
represented by an 'X' form, and the wings [are] indicated by the use of in-
sloping or out-sloping lines" (Cleland, et al., 1984, p. 240).

Both images can be found on a single disc, being placed one on either

side. Their uses in these early days seem to indicate a consistency over time:

Discs were sometimes drilled, apparently to be worn suspended

about the neck, but both undrilled as well as drilled specimens exhibit
use-wear indicating that they were not only worn but also carried in
pouches. It is therefore assumed that they represent charms or amulets;
such devices, of course, had wide precedence among the Ojibwa in other
forms. (Cleland, 1985, p. 132)

89

 

#151 a& b, Disc #1-32

 

#152 ad:- b, Disc #1-45

    

#153 ;1&b, Disc #1-38

Fig. 10. Shale discs from sites near Thunder Bay, Alpena, Michigan
from the Late Woodland period (AD. 1300- 1450). The image
shown in left column represents the thunderbird side of each disc,
while the inmge in the right column represents the underwater
panther side. Photographs courtesy of Jesse Besser Museum.

90

There is a striking resemblance between the incised designs of these two
motifs on these discs and the motifs of the period after contact and in modern
times. Compare discs #151 and 152 with the bags from the early 18003 [Fig. 11 &
12].

Small but powerful images in petroglyphs, which are carvings in rocks,
are found at Sanilac, Michigan. And more massive images are found in
pictographs, paintings on rock, located along the shores of lake Superior, as at
Agawa Rock, for example. Here the immense panther Mishipishiew is painted
in red, and remains much as it did in 1837 [Fig. 13] when it was described to
Schoolcraft by Shingwaukonce (Conway, 1993, p. 111). Pictographs such as
these have inspired two of the interviewees. Alice uses the thunderbird
design in quilting; Army will never forget their beauty on seeing them as a
child, and models her painted thunderbirds after them.

The colors red and black appear often. Ojibwa Dan Pine, assisting
Conway in his study of pictographs, explained the contingent symbolism of
color. In Conway's words:

He spoke about the prevailing use of red colors for spiritual purposes -

whether as paint on rock art sites, dyes for special clothes, or naturally

red stone ceremonial pipes. . . [He] also revealed that the paint used to
adorn rocks is a metaphor, imitating the colors nature provides to
animals. The underlying idea tells us that an animal's markings provide

power, just as a rock's paintings acknowledge and enhance its spiritual
power. (1993, p. 42)

Both Cleland and Swauger speak of the strong association in
iconography between rock art and the designs on Mide' birchbark scrolls
(memory aids used in the Grand Medicine Society ceremonies) evident in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many documented by Hoffman (1885-86)
and later Dewdney (1975). Swauger studied the Ohio petroglyphs and

hypothesizes that there is a common basis of spiritual concepts:

91

. . . [the] association between those who carved the Ohio petroglyphs
and Ojibwa is remote in time and space. I suggest that the artists of the
Ohio petroglyph sites did not share the mide concept with Ojibwa but did
share an older set of spiritual concepts and a set of symbols to express
them with Ojibwa and other historic tribes that have the mide concept:
Fox, Pottawatomie, Sauk, Menominee, and Winnebago (Trowbridge, 1939,
p. 36, as quoted by Swauger, 1984, p. 270).

Thus, it seems likely that from very early times, there was a common
spiritual belief related to the thunderbird and underwater panther, as well as a

common stylistic tradition as evidenced in these images.

 

Fig. 11. Black-dyed skin pouch with quillwork, c. 1800, #NMMlIl-G-829.
Note. From "Bo'jouI Neejee!" Profiles of Canadian Indian Art, by T. J. Brasser,
1976, p. 110. Copyright 1976 by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Reprinted with permission.

 

92

N-u'...
‘ L-

; . .I i. '
«CHEER-'5“ <

m

“u-“I-II ‘a‘ nu ‘bv-f‘lb'hs

Illi

..

L.up»snnusnuvuets-unnfnnl:

. ...H “incl”.-

‘QAIAI‘ M

u.-
~44s.»-¢q.
"‘We—Q“
.

 

Fig. 12. Ojibwa cotton woven bag, c. 1870. From the Collections of the Detroit
Institute of Arts, #8137. Reprinted with permission.

93

 

Fig. 13. Two views of the pictograph of Mishipishiew, photographed at Agawa
Rock, Ontario, Canada; by the author, September, 1994.

94

The Period following Contact with European Cultures

The representations of the underwater panther and thunderbird are
carried from pre-contact times into the material culture of more recent times,
as seen particularly in textiles and dress. Refer to the table below, divided into
generally recognized time periods by historians, which provides a sense of the

number of objects within particular time frames3:

Table 5. Analysis of Artifacts across Time Periods

Time Period Number of Objects Analyzed4
1780 to 1829 29
1830 to 1879 37
1880 to 1929 27
1930 to 1969 14
1970 to Present 43

Objects from the Period 1780 to 1829

The objects (or photographs of them) examined during this period were
primarily articles of clothing, including eleven bags or pouches made from
animal skin, dyed black, and embroidered in quills on one side with the motifs

of thunderbirds and panthers; a Mide' skin robe; a quill wrapped bark belt;

 

he Three Fires: e Ottawa Potawatomi and 'ibwa o Mic '
(Grand Rapids Inter-Tribal Council, Editor, 1986) was used as a model for these
times periods.
4 The total ojbects analyzed in the designated time periods (150) excludes the
pre-contact artifacts (#151-157) and those contemporary items made
commercially (#158-165).

95

three garters and sashes; two pair of moccasins; three woven fiber bags; two
cradleboard panels; a pewter pipe bowl; and five wooden artifacts (four war
clubs and one miniature dance wand).

The predominant look of the images from this period is a very
naturalistic and bold presentation of the images as well as the strong use of
line, both curvilinear and rectilinear. Refer to artifacts 34-44 and Fig. 11 and
12 for examples of pouches. Notice the repeated use of three rows of plaited
quills, worked generally in colors dyed from surrounding natural products.
Synthetic dyes were not yet available. The use of three rows reinforces the
world view of three regions of existence--the sky world, the world where
Anishnabeg, plants and animals live, and the world below. Four colors signify
the four sacred directions. Also notice the strong similarity of the central
motifs to those found etched in Mide' scrolls [Fig. 4] , not only indicating the
power of these beings within the Midewiwin healing society and in association
with the domain of war, but the continuity of use from one art form to another
within the same time period. The stunning Mide' robe [Fig. 14] has two
underwater panthers in the central circle, surrounded by a circle and then a
square, both containing the hourglass form of the thunderbird. The final
rectangle, incorporating designs associated with the thunderbird, is
surrounded by twenty-eight human forms, most likely the practitioners in
this Mide' society.

Many of the artifacts contain images which assume the role of a
dominant symbol, as in the pouches, but the "dominance" varies, depending
upon the situation. For example, on the war club, neither the thunderbird nor
the panther is shown as the dominant spirit. Each is a participant, or as found
in examples of Mide' scrolls collected later, one among many. However, in the

Mide' robe, the panthers, rather than thunderbird, are dominant.

96

 

Fig. 14. Quilled deerskin Mide' robe. Photograph courtesy of the National
Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, #32817. Reprinted
with permission.

97

Objects from the Period 1830 to 1879

This period, which includes Michigan's statehood beginning in 1837,
contains none of the beautiful black-dyed skin bags with quillwork
iconography of the earlier period. A photograph taken in England in 1845 was
located, which depicts such a bag being worn. In this period, women used
materials more readily available to them through trade, such as commercially
woven wool and cotton fabrics, as well as an abundance of man-made beads.
Thus, quillwork lessened, as did the use of animal skins.

As in the prior period, many of the objects are apparel or household
items: eight beaded bandolier bags; six garters and sashes; nine natural fiber,
wool or cotton woven bags; a beaded bag; a rush mat; and two buffalo rib
needles (and their case) for weaving. There is a pair of snowshoes, a drum, a
wooden pipe stem, a wooden Mide' board, and three wooden clubs. Additionally,
there are three different photographs [#136-138] from this period: one, from
1845, is the earliest known photograph of an American Indian (Fleming &
Luskey, 1992); the two others from the mid-nineteenth century depict Chief
Shoppenagon, a Chippewa from central Michigan, in dress. One of these
photographs [Fig. 15(a)] shows him wearing his beaded garters [Fig. 15(b)].

During this period more items present the images of the thunderbird
and panther in geometric form, rather than in more natural renderings, as in
the prior period. Beads are used for embellishment rather than quills to
partially decorate the object, or to embellish the entire artifact, particularly
the straps. Tobacco tins are used for decorative purposes. This is another
result of contact with European cultures, replacing more natural objects such
as shells, bones and animal hoofs. All finger woven bags and the mat

examined had panels, or vertical borders, to define the design between. Three

98

 

Fig. 15(a). Chief Shoppenagon, wife, and Fig. 15(b). Beaded
child; courtesy of Michigan State Archives, garter belonging
neg. #00747. Reprinted with permission. to Chief

Shoppenagon, #22.

99

of the ten bags have geometric designs.

This is the period in which the Indian Removal Act was passed,
resulting in the expulsion of many tribes to the plains region and the flight of
others into Canada. In order to acculturate themselves to the dominant
culture, those that remained curtailed teaching their heritage and traditions to
the younger generations. This suppression of their culture was expressed to
me by many with whom I talked.

The thunderbird and panther are often disguised as geometric rather
than representational forms, as noted by Phillips (1989) and Penney (1991).
Motifs used to symbolize the thunderbird were a jagged or zigzag line
suggesting lightning, an hourglass form suggesting the chest and tail, as well
as a diamond to reference the breast or heart, in addition to many other
abbreviated forms [#22, 55, 66; also see Lyford's sketches, Fig. 16]. Motifs
primarily associated with the underwater panther are its horns, tail, and cat-
like body. These have been translated into geometric form through the use of
concentric circles and concentric polygonal shapes [#54 from the prior
period], as well as zigzag, wavy, serpentine, or castellated lines that represent
turbulent waters [#63, 66, 82-83, 129, Fig. 6b; see Phillips, 1989; Penney, 1992].
Notice the use of the V forms to designate the thunderbird in the pouch
portion of the Chippewa bandolier bag [#4, Fig. 17] from the 18503, subtly
repeated in the design of the strap, which are similar to designs given by
Lyford [Fig. 18]. The diamond form, also representing the thunderbird in bag
and strap, as well as the imagery for lightning, are used. In addition, the
double diamond form and the zigzag form could be indicative of the

underwater panther (Phillips, 1989). Army elaborates on this:

100

n‘,\
A

// m

I
47" I 4. t? '
/x\ 4“ ‘Xhh

Fig. 16. Lyford's illustrations of thunderbird images found on birchbark
scrolls; Plate 84.

Dib-
/
%\

 

43%».

m

 

Fig. 17. Beaded bandolier bag; photographs by the author; from the Collections
of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, #120186.

101

 

 

 

 

PK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 18. Illustrations of "very old thunderbird design" by Lyford, writing in
1943; Plate 99.

[Discussing a floral design on bag #4] They hid things in the designs . . .
If you look at it, it's kind of like the thunderbirds travelling down. The
leaves are the wings and that flower is the body. . . . There [are] echoes
of it [the thunderbird].

[Describing a newspaper article she had read about a Jewish
community in Portugal which had secretly kept their traditions alive
for five hundred years] It talked about how they did ritual but in a
"covered-up way." And there were a lot of native people who did very
traditional things, but kept it covered up. . . . Like . . . feasts on All
Saints' Day. Now, around the time of All Saints' Day, is when
traditionally you would have had a Ghost Feast, to feed all those
ancestors. . . . And they do this under the guise of All Saints' Day in
Catholic homes, back when. Now they do this openly . . . but it was
really undercover for years and years and years. It wasn't until my
generation that things could be done openly.

[talking about bag #55, which was collected about 1800-1809] Look at
that Bizhou [underwater panther] there. You almost have the
thunderbird obliterating him, and that's pretty significant because
that's what was happening at that time. Those missionaries were here,
and they were talking him down, you know, saying he was bad, so he
was going under . . . Notice how big he [the thunderbird] is, and all
those power lines that are inside of him. You know, it's like he is
getting bigger and this other [the underwater panther] is being
diminished. And that's kind of the way people talked about him and
thought about him, from what I've learned.

Stylized designs were employed after increased contact with European

cultures, perhaps to disguise the representations of the thunderbird and

102

underwater panther, since missionaries, particularly, considered the images
"heathen." Stylized designs were incorporated not only into medicine and
bandolier bags, but moccasins and headbands, for example. Sashes and
garters, which were worn about the waist, leg or head (Gringhuis, 1972, p. 7)
are other predominant examples. Some contained realistic images [#20, 22]
while many were geometric [#17, 21, 50, Fig. 19]. The photograph of Chief
Shoppenagon illustrates their use. Notice the realistic thunderbird on his
headband and the geometric image on his garters [Fig. 15(a) & (b)].

Of the ten finger woven fiber bags examined [#57-66], four were
Menomini. Five of the remaining six were geometric expressions of the

thunderbird and underwater panther. According to Lyford [Fig. 20] and

 

Fig. 19. Potawatomi beaded garter, #21. Note. From The Art of the American
Indian Frontier by D. W. Penney, 1992, p. 83. Copyright 1992 by the Detroit

 

Institute of Arts. Reprinted with permission.

103

Fig. 20. Lyford's examples of thunderbird and panther images found on nettle
fiber bags; Plate 84.

 

 

Densmore (1982, p. 83 & 1929, p. 158, respectively), realistic forms of the
thunderbird and panther images are characteristicly woven into old nettle
fiber bags. One Ottawa woven rush mat [#73], dated 185 1, contains rows of
representational thunderbirds. Ritzenthaler (1983) and Conn (1979) state they
were used as wrappers for war bundles, interior home decorations, and also as

floor coverings on important occasions.

Objects from the Period 1880 to 1929

For this period twenty-seven objects were examined: four bandolier
bags; two beaded and three fiber bags; three sashes or waistbands, a pair of
moccasins, a choker necklace with incised shell, and a headband, all beaded;

two cloths, one a painted skin and the other a yarn embroidered cotton; a

104

birchbark scroll; six wooden items, including two cradleboards and four
rattles; and three photographs.

A number of items from this period were undated, but were categorized
within a broader range of dates. A few may belong to an earlier period.
Particularly noticable during this time was the extensive use of beading and
geometric imagery. Those that employed more naturalistic images were the
wooden rattles, a panel bag [#68], and three banded bags [#70-72]. Those that
did have natural forms generally portrayed the thunderbird, often used with
another form such as a flower. Agnes Tipkey's leather waistband and
headband are examples [Fig. 21]. They are embellished with beads and the
images of the thunderbird and red flowers.5

By the turn of the century, heavily beaded bandolier bags, with their
wide straps, had reached their height [#8-11]. Their use is described by
Hoffman (1885-86) in reference to an initiate joining the Mide' Society. The
person dressed in his best clothing and "such articles of beaded ornaments as
he possesses" (p. 207). The initiate's instructor as well as the Mide' priests
dressed in their finest clothing, each wearing "one or two beaded dancing
bags at his side, secured by a band of beaded cloth crossing the opposite
shoulder" (Hoffman, 1885-86, p. 207). Notice the typical asymmetric design of
the thunderbird on the left and human on the right portion of the strap of a
Potawatomi bag [Fig. 22(a)], most likely a "dancing bag," photographed in 1897
in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Is it purposely worn by the man with the

thunderbirds most prominent [Fig. 22(b)], in contrast to how the Native

 

SAgnes Tipkey, who performed with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in the early
1900s, was recruited from her home in Michigan at the age of sixteen, and
eventually performed around the world.

105

American woman wears it in her portrait with another woman, the possible
purchaser of this bag [Fig. 22(c)]?

In reference to Hoffman's observation about Mide' "dancing bags," he
also commented on the Ojibwa's attitude toward the importance of clothing.
For example, in dance, whether it be social or ceremonial, Hoffman said that
the Ojibwa vie with each other to see who has the most costly or "most gaudy
dress obtainable." He compared them to other tribes such as the Dakotan who
frequently appear without much clothing other than a breechcloth,
moccasins, armlets, and other ornaments. He says that, to the Ojibwa, "this
disregard of dress appears . . . as a sacrilegious digression from the ancient
usages, and it frequently excites severe comment" (1885-86, pp. 298-299).

During this time, ethnographic research was being done by Hoffman
(1885-86, 1890), Skinner (1913), Densmore (1929), and others. They were
documenting and collecting examples of native material culture because of
their concern about the effects of acculturation. This is the period of the
boarding school experience and of confinement to the reservation, when the
Anishnabeg's way of life was changing. In the artifacts examined, one notices
the presence of thunderbird images, but the underwater panther image is less
evident, perhaps because the Euro-American culture considered this being
malevolent. Mary, for example, talks about her people's experience during the
Indian Removal period and later:

[There was] the strength of the different societies [and] a lot . . . went

underground. And people didn't know who belonged to what, because if

. . . the wrong people knew, they would tell in order to get different

favors from the powers that be. And people would get sent away, or

come up missing. A lot of people, to escape that, went into Canada. A lot
to the Georgian Bay east shore. There are different pockets of Odawa
that came from around Traverse City area, Potawatomis that came from

Wisconsin and southern Michigan, [who] went that way to get away

from the soldiers and the encroachment of the white people-~the U.S.
government, basically.

106

 

Fig. 21(a & b). Agnes Tipkey's waistband and enlargement of the thunderbird
image. Photographs by the author; from the Collections of Central Michigan
University Museum.

107

 

Fig. 22(a). Potawatomi beaded bandolier bag and detail of the thunderbird.
Photographs by the author; from the Collections of the Public Museum of
Grand Rapids, #1 17089.

108

 

Fig. 22(b). Fig. 22(c).

Figs. 22(b & c). Photographs taken in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1897 showing
a Potawatomi bandolier bag being worn. Photocopies courtesy of Public
Museum of Grand Rapids, #135287 and #135287 c.1.1 [of bag #117089].
Reprinted with permission.

109

Objects from the Period 1930 to 1969

There was a dearth of actual objects located from this period. Of the
fourteen examined, six were photographs and one was a postcard, primarily
depicting Great lakes Indians involved in tourist related activities. Other
objects were most likely made for tourist purchases, such as a beaded belt and a
quillbox; or used in tourist entertainment, such as a drum and a beaded
headband. One, however, is a finger woven bag, another is an incomplete
beadwork panel, and two are paintings by an Ojibwa artist.

Many images are not consistent with those evident from pre-contact
and early historic periods. Only the thunderbird is used as a symbol (except
for the two paintings of the panther late in this period), and often it seems to
be an image imported from elsewhere. Objects with the image of the
thunderbird were likely produced for the tourist market, as arts and crafts
were often an essential means of support during the Great Depression. A
number of Anishnabeg families, for example, participated in the Works
Project Administration (WPA), where these native talents were encouraged
(McClurken, 1991).

Some images resemble those seen in the Southwest or those produced by
the Chinese. (Notice, in Fig. 23, the Southwest influence of "stepped" wings
and a body that lacks the hourglass form of a traditional thunderbird image of
the Great lakes region). This period included depression times and post-World
War II, when it was "not popular" and "hard to be an Indian." Barbara said
that Anishnabeg during this period would rarely be seen in Indian clothing,
because they didn't want to be labeled as Indians. During her childhood in the
19403 and 19503, she remembers that each item of Indian clothing had a

thunderbird on it, but these articles were made only for tourists. She describes

armrtvvww7

j “":,l' ~‘4‘*‘°‘%$,Z

 

Fig. 23. Quilled birchbark box (top showing) with thunderbird and flowers.
Photograph by the author; from the Collections of Central Michigan
University Museum.

the image of the thunderbird made for tourists: "The Chinese make it too
precise and rounded to fit the circle. The Ojibwa thunderbirds are more
squared off, with wings straight across" [see Fig. 24(a)]. Compare the modern
example from China [Fig. 24(b)] with the thunderbird images in a late 18003
fiber bag [Fig. 6(b), upper photograph], or with those from a 1990 Ojibwa quilt
[Fig. 25]. Beadmaker Lewis Pontiac (Red Cloud) from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
tells how he learned to make beaded items in 1968 by taking apart one made in
China (undated, pg. 1). His beaded medallion necklaces, however, are "squared
off, with wings straight across" [#29, Fig. 26(a)].

Notice the geometric beaded sash [#51, Pig. 26(b)] from the prior period.
It is dated "early 19003," but could be from this time period. It has "hidden"
images of the thunderbird and panther. One can find the "X", diamond
(heart), and hourglass forms of the thunderbird and a checkmark-type form

and triangle suggestive of the underwater panther's face and horns,

 

Fig. 24(a). Beaded thunderbird earrings Fig. 24(b). A 19903 Chinese
by Barbara Tazelaar; 1992; photograph barrette; photograph by the
by the author; author's collection. author; author's collection.

 

Fig. 25. Portion of a quilt by Alice Fox, 1990; photograph courtesy of
A. Fox.

112

 

Fig. 26(a). Beaded medallion necklace by Lewis Pontiac; photograph by the
author.

113

 

Fig. 26(b). Beaded Ojibwa sash. Photograph by the author; from the Collections
of the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, #1231 12.

as remarked by Army. Mary spoke of these "hidden" images as she talked

about the Depression years on the reservation, and how families tried to carry

on traditions:

There were lots of things that they wove, but it was kind of like hidden,

or only put into things that only the family was going to use, because of

getting back to the PSS [head of social services] with it. If she didn't
view you as a good, clean, Christian-seeking Indian, you didn't get help.

Even though you may be just as needy and just as worthy as the person

who was looking like they were trying to be a Christian--a good-

working, assimilating person—if you were thought to be pagan or too

Indian, you didn't get help. So that reinforced that notion that we

needed to give up our ways and just look like, talk like, act like white

people.

This period was a time of lost skills. Some ash baskets were being made,
as well as items of birchbark with some quilling and sweetgrass, made to sell to
tourists and shops, but for very little pay and consequently with a lower
standard of craftsmanship. Barbara, Mary, and Alice, as well as others,
remember these items being sold for twenty-five cents, typically. Anishnabeg

who wore Indian clothing were usually participating in tourist-related

activities and posing for photographs. Some, however, were worn for

114

celebratory occasions such as pageants, pow-wows, or contests such as shown
in the 1951 Harbor Springs Indian Princess photograph[#145, Fig. 27].

A new trend, along with a revival of traditions, was occurring during
the end of this period. This is evidenced by the paintings from this period by
Ojibwa artist Norval Morrisseau. These paintings portray the thunderbird and
Misshipeshu in strong imagery, with the use of traditional stylizations such as
the sloping wings and side view of the head of the thunderbird, and horns, tail
and spines of the panther. With his art, we begin to see a re-interpretation of
internal parts and seemingly more use of power lines (forms of energy

expression) [#98-99, Fig. 28(a) & (b)].

Contemporary Images from 1970 to Present

Of the forty-three artifacts examined from the contemporary period,
most are paintings and art related items from the late 19803 to 1994. These
include nineteen paintings, a pottery bowl, and a sculpture, as well as three
quillboxes, a ceremonial skin pouch, one framed birchbark cutout, four quilts,
and a quilt design. Twelve of the items, however, are clothing accessory
pieces, generally beaded, or those pertaining to pow-wow regalia: a pair of
earrings, two painted pins, four necklaces, a coin purse, a wristband, a
headband, and two photographs which portray pow wow traditional dancers.

Most of the images are traditional renderings of older symbols,
fashioned with individuality by the maker. Compare the underwater panthers
on the 1994 Ottawa quillbox [#120, Fig. 8(a)] with the Ottawa quilled pouch from
the 17803 [#3 8, Fig. 29]. This is particularly true of the paintings, most of
which are the interpretations by the artist to express the essence of the

spiritual being portrayed [#100-118]. Once again the panther has surfaced and

 

Fig. 27. Photograph of an Ottawa Indian Princess taken at Harbor Springs.

Michigan in 195 1.

#145. Photocopy courtesy of Michigan State Archives.

Reprinted with permission.

NJ>~>§°V

 

Fig. 28(a). Painting entitled "Thunderbird" by Norval Morrisseau. Note. From
jlhg Legends of My People the Great Ojibway, by N. Morrisseau, 1965, p. 79.

Copyright 1965 by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. Reprinted with permission.

 

 

Fig. 28(b). Painting entitled "Misshipeshu" by Norval Morrisseau. Note. From
e Le ends of M Peo Ie the Great O'ibwa , by N. Morrisseau, 1965, p. 99.
Copyright 1965 by McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. Reprinted with permission.

Fig. 29. Ottawa pouch from the 17803.
Photograph courtesy of Cranbrook
Institute of Arts, #3690. Reprinted
with permission.

 

Fig. 30. "Mishi lVfishoo" by David
Dutcher. Photograph by the
author. From the Collections of
the Jesse Besser Museum.

118

is displayed alone or in combination with the thunderbird, as shown in
contemporary artwork [see Fig. 9, 30-3 2]. Also notice that some beadwork today
is very reflective of examples from early 1900. Compare the similarity of style
of the thunderbird in the 1994 beaded leather coin purse [Fig. 33, Side One]
with those on the headband and waistband from the early 19003 [Fig. 21]
belonging to Princess Agnes Tipkey, who performed with Buffalo Bill's Wild
West Show.

Today, the pow-wow also provides the opportunity for the display of
these symbols. As in the past, communications are renewed at various times of
the year in rituals, festivals, and celebrations. The intent is to provide
opportunities for renewals on many levels and in many ways: for spiritual
renewal, the renewal of friendships and extended family gatherings, for an
opportunity to honor elders and war veterans, and to celebrate the renewal of
the cyclical seasons. It also provids the opportunity to display talents and
skills in making regalia and related dress, for performers as well as other
participants and spectators. On these occasions, one may find many examples
of Anishnabeg images and symbols, as shown on apparel [Fig. 34, #148, 149].
They are also found in popular culture items such as t-shirts and caps.

To conclude, the images through time have changed, yet remain similar.
Very early discs, pictographs, and petroglyphs are natural or representa-
tional. These natural forms continue into the period of early contact, as
evidenced by the quillwork done on textiles such as the skin Mide' robe and
skin bags. During the continuing periods of contact with European societies
and the resulting cultural changes, the symbols of the thunderbird and
underwater panther were concealed at times within geometric forms. Because

of its more beneficent connotation, the thunderbird has remained visually

 

Fig. 31. "Look Before You Leap" by Anny Hubbard; photograph
courtesy of the artist.

I

AW 7:

fin/”W, f" ’\|

11.1.‘1\\““m |

 

Fig. 32. "Misshipeshu" by N. Morrisseau, c. 1970. Note. From Sacred Scrolls of
the Southern Ojibway, by S. Dewdney, 1975. Copyright 1975 by Selwyn
Dewdney. Reprinted with permission.

 

120

 

Side TWO

Fig. 33. Beaded coin purse by Veronica High. Photographs by the author;
author's collection.

 

Fig. 34. Pow-Wow dancers in regalia. Photographs by Doug Elbinger; courtesy
of Michigan State University Museum, Folk Arts Archives.

122

more evident through times when many traditions and beliefs were lost.
Today, however, with the revitalization of Native American cultures, both
images are once again becoming visually evident in representational forms,
particularly in art and artistic expressions, as well as popular and commercial
material culture. Although each image is not stylistically identical, each bears

a common stylistic heritage, as did the discs in pre-contact time.

A Detailed Analysis Using the Revised Smith Model

The following section provides a detailed analysis of the findings about
the form and style of the images as found in bags and pouches in this study
from approximately 1780 to the present, to illustrate the application of the
revised Smith artifact study model. Due to the diversity of the objects in the
total sample, only the bags and pouches will be discussed in greater detail
since they represent a significant number of the total artifacts examined. Of
the total group of forty-five bags and pouches, four were Menomini
fingerwoven bags, all with representational thunderbirds on one side and
underwater panthers on the reverse side in various configurations.

Forty-five bags/pouches were examined (including one photograph of
an Ojibwa man wearing a bag, [#136]). For those objects that were examined
from a photograph, information provided by the author or source of
publication was relied upon. Where no information was provided, details were
noted and a comparison was made to another similar artifact, after consulting
sources, for a possible determination about characteristics of the bag [#136].

Step One of the revised Smith model involved the analysis of the
observable data or properties of each individual bag: its materials,

construction, function, provenance, and value. Once this step had been

123

completed, Step Two, the comparison of the bags/pouches, was made, as noted
below. Included in this discussion is information from Step Three, data from

supplementary sources.

Materials and Construction

Of the forty-five bags/pouches examined, most of those from the early
periods were made from materials readily available in the Great lakes area.
later bags are made, in part, from materials acquired through contact with
European cultures. Twelve are made from skin, three are made from the
vegetal fiber nettlestalk, two from nettlestalk and wool, two from cotton,
fifteen of the animal fiber wool (of which eight are lined with cotton muslin),
two of wool and linen, one described as silk and velvet, and one which employs
skin thongs to create a netted panel of quillwork that has a wool and linen
lining [#41]. Seven of the bags are described as twined fiber or natural fiber,
with indications that they are made of nettlestalk, buffalo hair or wool.

The images of the thunderbird and underwater panther are
constructed/ depicted primarily in two distinct ways: as an applied
embellishment, or type of embroidery, on a blackened background (e.g.,
quillwork on dyed skin); or as an incorporation within the surface materials
of the bag. This is accomplished by fingerweaving a dark design within a
light or natural colored background, or by beading dark colors within light
colors or light colors within dark, to create contrast. In a few instances, a
panel is made and then attached over the base material: a netted panel of
porcupine quillwork done on leather thongs, or loomwoven beadwork on
cotton thread. A modern example (a beaded tobacco skin pouch, #88) applies

the beads directly to the skin bag by means of the lazy stitch, a method

124

whereby five or more beads are strung on the thread before entering the base
material (skin), rather than being attached to the base material between every
bead.

Those bags/ pouches that are "embroidered" with porcupine quillwork
employ, primarily, three different techniques or methods of application: one-
quill edging, simple line, and zigzag banding. These methods are often all used
within one artifact [#34-40, 42-44]. Robin Odle (1973), discussing quillwork in
A1: of the Qzeat lakes Indians, provides a detailed description of these
techniques (and others), supplemented with excellent diagrams. She
additionally comments that although the thunderbird and underwater panther
motifs are found in areas other than the Great lakes, they are "nevertheless
unique in that only within these general limits [Great Lakes region] were they
depicted in porcupine quillwork" (p. xxxvii). The remaining bags/pouches,
which are fingerwoven or woven on a beadloom, incorporate these designs
directly within the fabric of the bag as a part of the weaving process, with the
exception of #41, to be discussed below.

The materials used to create the images are variously dyed porcupine
quills, dyed animal hair, dyed wool or cotton, and beads. Supplementary
materials are used as additional embellishment, and in the construction of the
bags, such as silk material or grosgrain ribbon, velvet, metal cones, leather
thongs, beads and quills, and a zipper.

There are three basic types of bags/pouches incorporating the
thunderbird and underwater panther motifs within this sample: black-dyed
skin with quillwork designs (twelve examples); fingerwoven (seventeen
examples); and entirely or partially beaded (sixteen examples). This group can
also be divided into thirty representational (or realistic) images of these two

beings, and fifteen that are geometric or non-realistic motifs [#1, 2, 4-6, 10-12,

125

36, 37, 57, 63, 65, 67, 69]. Phillips (1989) describes geometric motifs as
"represent[ing] emanations of power." Of the total sample [165 objects],
twenty-seven depict geometric images, with this grouping of artifacts
including the largest number [15].

In considering the presentation of these images and the relationship of
this presentation to the materials employed in creating the design, I found
that the realistic image appears most natural when done in quillwork on skin
bags. As porcupine quills are flexible and vary in size from large to very
delicate (depending on the area of the pelt from which they were taken, and
the preference of the quillworker), very fine curvilinear designs could be
created, especially when the simple line is employed. Examples are found in
the outlines and internal lines of the underwater panther [#34, 38-39, 42] and
the power lines extending down or out from the wings of the thunderbird
[#43-44].

In contrast to these fine lines, bold lines (and thus bold forms) were
created by the use of the zigzag band of quillwork. A double line or. band on
the thunderbird in bag #35 is used ; and a single zigzag band creates the
striking outline and solid internal line (alimentary tract?) of each of the
lower pair of underwater panthers [#34] and of the thunderbirds [#40, 44].
Lyford ( 1982) provides a good discussion of how these solid bands of quillwork
were created on skin bags:

When a quill embroidery pattern was to be worked out on skin,
stitches were taken with threads of sinew around which the quills were
folded to fasten them to the skin. The sinew was secured from the
tendon that runs down the back of a deer or other large animal. . . .
These threads of sinew had considerable strength. Old pieces of quill
work that have been sewed with sinew have kept in good condition
through the years. (p. 122)

All quillwork examined present images that are designed by outline,

often with repeated rows to add form to the body. The outline form also depicts

126

internal elements, such as the "heartline" and the internal chest definition of
the thunderbird, and the various internal elements of the panther. One bag,
however, is different from the rest [#41]. It is from the early 18003, and the
thunderbird's image is fashioned in solid quillwork in the netted (or
wrapping) technique on leather thongs. Odle (1973), who calls this technique
"web-work" or "net-work," describes the process: "A series of fine leather
strips is bound together in pairs . . . to obtain a net-like effect. . . . [T]wo strips
are bound together by a single quill, the ends secured by tucking them under
the first and last turns of the quill" (p. xxxii). These techniques could perhaps
be considered precursors of beadwork strung on sinew, and finally on thread
in later periods.

The representational or realistic images made in fingerwoven and
twined bags, however, are not as curvilinear as those done on the skin bags;
rather, they appear angular or more geometric looking as a result of the
material used. Fingerweaving produces diagonal and straight lines; thus
weaving a curved design is a difficult process. However, some degree of
control is possible, for the smaller the diameter of the fiber used, the finer the
features that may be created by the maker.

As with quillwork designs, many fingerwoven images appear in outline
form [#5 5-56, 58-62, 64, 68]. Some areas of the image, however, are filled in,
such as the thunderbird's head, and the underwater panther's head, chest and
legs. In other images, the entire body of the panther, for example, (except
spaces for internal ribs and organs) is filled in with dyed fibers. Most of the
thunderbird images are in outline form, but a few are presented in solid form
[#70-72, 59].

Because of the nature of weaving and the angularity of line produced,

geometric or non-realistic images are often the result. Five of the

127

fingerwoven bags contain bold and dramatic geometric images: three in panel
bags [#57, 63, 65] and two in banded bags [#67, 69]. There are also two
geometrically designed images in quillwork on the skin pouches from the late
18th century [#36-37].

In the beadwork bags, realistic forms (all thunderbirds) are used in
eight (possibly nine); the remaining seven are geometrically depicted. Each
realistic thunderbird image is in solid (not outline) form; the wings, however,
have a sense of a linear or outline form [#3, 7-9, 45, 66, 71, 88; possibly 136].
Fine image details have been achieved in most of the beadwork because of the
small size of beads used, as well as the variety of colors that were employed
(and were available in the mid- to late 18003). Lyford (1982) mentions 1860 as
the approximate date for the availability of beads in great quantity, which this
study also confirms. She also states that "after the introduction of glass beads,
the art of quill embroidery work gradually declined and it has been little
practiced in recent years [about 1943]" (p. 121).

Of these beaded realistic forms, one [#3] is very unusual in two respects.
First, there are three heads in profile shown on the thunderbird. All other
motifs of the thunderbird examined display one head in profile only. Does this
suggest that the maker (dreamer/vision questor?) equated three distinct
powers with the thunderbird, each head representing a power? Secondly, the
exhibition curator of Sagged Cirgles describes a part of the design as
"bleached—a rare and unexplained technique for the period [19th century]"
(Coe, 1977, p. 94). This beaded fingerwoven bag contains not only the
representational image of the thunderbird on the pouch portion, but its sash
or strap depicts a zigzag line, which is a geometric symbol associated with the
thunderbird. Three other bags also employ this technique, of those bags with

remaining straps [#7-9].

128

Also, the photograph of Reverend Peter Jones wearing a bag [#136; Fig.
35] has been included in the beaded bag grouping because of the similarity of
design of the thunderbird on his bag to that of another beaded wool bandolier
bag [#3]. Both images appear to have been created in a like manner: head
facing in silhouette form to the right; an hourglass or X body form; wings
spread out with a slightly downward slope, with feathers resembling power
lines descending from each; and legs or talons near the mid section of the
body. The forms of both bodies are somewhat (but not completely) filled in,
and are not designed in a simple outline or repeated outline method. Since the
thunderbird of # 3 is beaded, # 136 may also have been created in this manner.

When considering the size of each image or groupings of images on
each bag, those from the early periods (1780-1870) and the two from the
comtemporary period (1970-present) are very large and encompass much of
the surface of the bag. There is one exception in time: a Potawatomi panel bag
[#68] from 1890. Images on the panel bags of the early periods are included on
both sides of the bag, taking between 80-85% of each surface (including the
panel "framing device"). In contrast, the skin bags are designed on only one
surface, but the space taken by the main image and associated forms comprise
about 75-85% of the surface of the bag. The remainder of the space is devoted
to the zigzag band designs in many colors, usually of three rows. Additional
non-realistic symbols (asymmetrically arranged, a common technique in
Anishnabeg dress) are incorporated on the strap to further reinforce or
complement the main motif.

The realistic images from the period 1880-1930, particularly on the
shoulder (or bandolier) bags, are quite small in comparison to those of earlier
times. Also, they are not boldly placed in the main portion of the bag, but are

placed in vertical rows on tabs hanging below the edge of the bag [#9], or are

129

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 35. Photograph of Ojibwa Rev. Peter Jones taken in England on Augi) 4R
1845. N__o_te. From [he Ngrth Ameh'can Indians in Erl ry Photographs, byP.
Fleming and J. Luskey, 1986, p. 15. Copyright 1986 by Barnes & Noble BooksR.

Reprinted with permission.

130

a part of the design on the strap [#7-8]. The heavily beaded bandolier bags of
this period, with wide beaded shoulder straps, predominantly show the
geometric, or non-realistic, image of the thunderbird, in the linear or more
solid hourglass form, designed and embellished in a variety of colors on a
white ground. These are shown either by one bold design or multiple designs
on the bag, or in profuse and asymmetric numbers on the strap.

In considering the number of images on a bag/pouch, usage varies, but
the majority of bags (19) depict one major image. Four bags display two
similar images together on one side [#44, 60, 62, 68]: two woven bags with
thunderbirds, with one above the other; a fingerwoven Menomini bag, with
two thunderbirds, one above the other; and a quilled skin bag with two
thunderbirds, side by side. One bag has one joined pair of images, and there
are two each of others with two, three, and four joined pairs. Eight bags
present rows of thunderbirds joined wing tip to wing tip, while seven set forth
vertical or horizontal rows of unjoined images. From these variations in
presentation, we sense not only the power of the individual image, but also
power in numbers.

There is an equal distribution of bags which are either one- or two-
sided, for purposes of displaying these images. All seven of the two-sided bags
which portray joined pairs of panthers have one major image on the reverse
side, usually the thunderbird. Additionally, the beaded bandolier bags place an
equal weight or emphasis on the bag and the strap for presentation of these
images, mostly in geometric form.

The placement of images, too, is a significant factor to consider. All the
fingerwoven bags examined are panel bags, except for three banded bags [#67,
69-70]. These bags divide each side into three horizontal spaces by the means

of solid or checkered woven bands. lrnages or geometric depictions are in

131

rows within each of these three bands, as if suggesting three levels of being
or three worlds within one. In contrast, the panel bags incorporate a vertical
row or rows of linear color (sometimes with geometric designs embodied
within) to set off the thunderbird and underwater panther images, as if they
are being framed like a picture. The same end is achieved in the quilled skin
bags through the use of zigzag bands. These are usually in three horizontally
joined rows above the image, and in one instance also below [#44]. Additional
methods are used to "frame" each image, such as other forms of quillwork to
border three or four sides of the image: twined single line quillwork forms,
zigzag band, and even fine beads to outline the bag. In one blackened skin bag
[#42] the panther has a rectangular band framing it, which is surrounded by a
crenellated form, and finally a bordering rectangular form, all in the quilled
zigzag band technique. The fingerwoven panel bags, too, employ additional
"frames" to further highlight the image within. The two thunderbirds shown
in bag # 60, in addition to the vertical panels, are enclosed within a hexagon
form (with double diamond forms embedded within), and are futher given
prominence by means of separating lines within this second "frame." Thus,
placement within a frame or frames enhance, as well as portray, the power of
each image.

Colors also add to the beauty and sacredness of the images. Striking
images are created in woven textile bags by the use of black or dark brown
dyed fibers woven into a natural or light ground fiber. Vertical panels employ
reds, yellow, and black, predominantly. Early bags would have used natural
dyes to create these colors. Lyford (1982), Densmore (1929), and Odle (1973)
provide detailed descriptions and charts of natural plants and vegetation used
in the preparation of natural dyes by the Great lakes Indians. (brillwork on

dyed skin bags also primarily use the colors of red, white, blue, and yellow on a

132

ground of black (associated with the sacred directions). Some quillwork colors
are described in photographs as green and orange. If one of the purposes of
the maker was to express sacredness through the use of color, perhaps the
orange and green are dye variations or color change from originally intended
colors of red, yellow, and blue. In beadwork, there is a wide variety of color,
perhaps evident for two reasons: availability of colors in the wide variety of
beads to the weaver, as documented by Lyford above, or the use of many colors
to provide a lively, artful, and ornamental image, perhaps with less

importance given to sacred meaning.

Function

The function or purpose of a bag is not always known. While visually
examining a bag, one is often struck with the beauty of the image, and is
drawn to examine it in more detail. Power and sacredness are suggested in the
quality and depiction of the image, through its fine crafting, and also its
stance and the surrounding embellishments which add to its prominence or
importance. Straps provide clues that the bag was worn or carried. Pockets
and linings suggest that objects may have been carried within. Some have no
pockets, but have straps, and so suggest that they were worn for social
purposes, perhaps as a status object. Size also suggests whether small or large
items could be carried within.

Often, the recorded history of a bag found in collections does not
provide a clue to its purpose; however, much information has been collected
by ethnographers at the beginning of this century which provide details not

only about the construction of bags, but also their use. Lyford and Densmore,

as well as Skinner, are particularly helpful. According to them, the twined

133

bags, approximately 20 inches square (Densmore, 1929, p. 158), performed the
utilitarian functions of storage for grains and clothing, and often served as
containers for sacred bundles and medicines. Black-dyed pouches, and later
bandolier bags, were used to carry not only sacred items, but were often worn
in ceremonies, such as those of the Midewiwin. In this context, its use was
sacred and social.

The two contemporary bags [#45, 88] were purchased primarily as art
objects, although both the coin purse and the beaded tobacco pouch may be
used in a spiritual and also a utilitarian manner: to hold coins or other small
and perhaps sacred objects, and to carry tobacco. Another conclusion can be
drawn from the quillwork design being applied only on one side of the skin
pouches: as most of these bags have/had a carrying strap, they were
"embroidered" only on one side in order to keep the quills from being rubbed

through contact with the body or clothing.

Provenance

Research is often hampered when the dates and provenance of artifacts
are not known. For these objects, the provenance, or history of the bags'
manufacture and location, are at times pinpointed in catalogue records to a
specific location in Michigan. A few in the sample are from Wisconsin, but
many are designated with a general location such as Central Great lakes, or
Eastern Great lakes. Generally, the object is dated within a ten or twenty year
period, but a few have more precise documentation, such as the specifically
dated photograph of Reverend Peter Jones, taken in England on August 4, 1845,
when wearing the pouch with the thunderbird [#136]. In contrast, a few are

designated only with a time frame within a particular century. For example,

134

the bandolier bag described by Coe (1977) as Ottawa or Ojibwa has been given
the date of the 19th century [#3]. After completing Steps 2 and 3 of the
analysis, I placed this bag within the period of 1830 to 1880, because of its
similarity to Peter Jones' bag from 1845. An additional note should be made:

no bags with the images of the thunderbird and underwater panther are found
in the sample from the time period of 1930 to 1970.

The part of the analysis at each step leading to Value, and also Steps Four
and Five, Cultural Analysis and Interpretive Conclusions, have been addressed
minimally here, but were given much greater treatment earlier in this
chapter. They also will be discussed in depth in Chapter 5.

In conclusion, the use of the revised Smith artifact model assisted in the
study and assessment of the images used in these objects. By systematically
observing the materials and construction methods employed, considering the
provenance of each, as well as thinking through the functional use and value
of each artifact, patterns of consistency emerged in the individual and
comparative steps of this process. Written documentation by scholars and
information from interviewees confirmed or clarified assumptions made, and
helped answer questions that arose in the first two steps. This data (from Step
Three) was then helpful in continuing to Steps Four and Five, where analyses
regarding the Anishnabeg cultures were made, and interpretative conclusions
were formed. I concluded that they these bags/ pouches are a good object to
study to provide information about their cultures. Additionally, the
publication of so many bags/pouches suggests the significance of these

artifacts within these tribes.

CHAPTER 5
PART AND WHOLE RELATIONSHIPS

What is meant by part and whole relationships? In considering the
images of the thunderbird and the underwater panther, could they be thought
of as forming and expressing part and whole relationships as introduced in

Chapter 2?

Exploring the Concept

The relationships of part and whole will be discussed on three levels,
proceeding from the concrete to the abstract: 1) in terms of the material
relation of part to whole in a designed form; 2) in terms of components and
processes of a system; and 3) in terms of a world view.

Marilyn DeLong (1987) provided a reference for considering spatial
relationships in jljhe Way We 1.0015: A Framewogk fog Visual Malysis of Dress,

which assisted my thinking about the material relation of parts and whole.

 

She presents and analyzes visual parts in dress, and defines how parts
function in relation to the whole.

DeLong points out four organizing factors and many part modifiers.
The four organizing factors (similarity, closure, proximity, and continuation)
interact in the process of creating a whole. Modifiers influence visual
interaction, as, for example, number, size, or position of parts in space. The

first Gestalt organizing factor, similarity, according to DeLong, "is the most

135

136

inclusive organizing factor" (p.98). An Anishnabeg example is the
craftsperson's repeated use of like images of the thunderbird or underwater
panther within an object. The repetition of identical, or similar, images, as in
the woven mat from 1851 [#73; Fig. 36(a)] and the contemporary quilt from the
19903 [Fig. 36(b)] convey the sense of power in numbers to the viewer. The
repeated use of the diamond within each thunderbird chest is an additional
organizing factor, suggesting added depth of power. Also, as DeLong points
out, parts that are dissimilar separate from the whole. For example, the use of
one large image centered within groupings of smaller images separates. As in
the early quilled skin pouches and often in modern paintings, the superior
power of the larger dissimilar image is suggested.

Closure is the visual process by which the viewer fills in spaces to
arrive at a complete whole. This is evident in the beaded coin purse [Fig. 33]: a
circular effect is created by the use of arrows surrounding the thunderbird
and our eyes fill in the blank spaces. The factor of proximity (perceptually
grouping because of close spatial placement) also functions within the whole,
organizing parts into a group, as seen in Fig. 6(b). Notice that the polygon
form within each panther and those joined above the top panther's body tend
to draw toward each other, suggesting completeness as a unit or whole. lastly,
the organizing factor of continuation, or "parts arranged in a straight or
curvilinear path," is significant (DeLong, 1987, p. 101). This factor is another
strong visual organizer, as evidenced in many of the artifacts. Thunderbirds
and underwater panthers are seen in rows, as well as groupings of colors, and
groupings of lines above and below them. Lines of "communications" create
framing devices on panel bags, and are drawn in curvilinear, flowing lines in

modern paintings [Fig. 31].

137

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138

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Fig. 36(b). QJJilt with thunderbirds by Alice Fox, 1987. Photograph courtesy of
Michigan State University Museum, Folk Arts Archives.

139

Important, too, as pointed out by DeLong, is the interaction of factors,
the "process of combining and relating" visual parts. To extend this concept,
communication is a vital form of interaction for the Anishnabeg, and is a
strong component in many of the objects examined. When shown a
photograph of the 18403' drum [Fig. 37], Peter described the figures and the
dashes moving outward from their heads as "quite a gathering . . . [with] a lot
of words being said." A similar type of communication, or interaction, seems to
be occurring in old as well as modern objects. A late eighteenth century
pouch [Fig. 11(a)] seemingly exhibits "speech," or a communicating energy,
flowing from the thunderbird's head in the form of a wavy line. Much
interaction is readily noted in contemporary paintings too. In Fig. 30,
Misshipeshu [the underwater panther] is communicating with the fish,
"sending them . . . for the people to eat," as Peter said. There is also interaction
shown in the Mide' robe [Fig. 14] through the joining of hands of the human
figures. One senses the energy flow (or energy network) here, as well as in
other artifacts, such as those with natural forms, and most of the
contemporary paintings.

Relationships of part and whole are considered on another, or second
level, the processes of a system. Interaction is a visual process in material
objects (possibly creating a symbolic connection, as noted above), but it is also
a systems process concept. Interaction is integral in human ecology theory.
Margaret Bubolz, Suzanne Sontag, and Gerald Young address this concept, as
well as that of part and whole relationships. Young says:

Interaction creates new levels and establishes contact between levels;

when contact has been made between two entities they enter into a new,

a different relationship; a new connected system at a higher level is

formed. A larger, more complex whole is created, a whole that itself
must then be considered for more complete understanding. (1989, p. 27)

140

 

Fig. 37. Drum of wood and deerskin, c. 1840. Note. From The Art of the
American Indian Frontier, by D. W. Penney, 1992, p. 252, Fig. 181. Copyright
1992 by the Detroit Institute of Arts. Reprinted with permission.

141

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Fig. 38. Ottawa skin pouch, #NMMIIl-M-Z. Note. From "Bo'jou, Neejee!"
Profiles of Canadian Indian Art, by T. J. Brasser, 1976, p. 96. Copyright 1976 by
the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Reprinted with permission.

142

Young also suggests that in human ecology studies, the "arrow" [my term] of
investigation (indicating reciprocal interaction) should move in both
directions to complete and unify the whole; that is, the researcher should
consider the arrow going not only from human to environmental components,
but also {[9111 the environment and all organisms that impact on humans
(Young, 1994, p. 316). The conceptual force of the word interaction is realized
in its etymology: "inter" in latin means among, between; futher back, from
the Sanscrit word "antar," it means within. When combined with the word
"act," deriving from the latin verb meaning to do, there is the sense of
reciprocal and mutual action between and among all elements and beings.

Bubolz and Sontag, in their development of a holistic human ecology
theory, focus on process. The family, as an energy transformation (or
process) system, in interaction with its environment, constitutes the family
ecosystem. This ecosystem is comprised of three levels of organization or
environments, each embedded in the other: natural physical-biological,
social-cultural, and human-built. Organisms of all kinds and nature are a vital
aspect to this system, interacting with each other and the various
environments, thus creating an ecosystem. To me, this holistic ecosystem
embodies Young's "inclusiveness" (the role of human ecology to be inclusive)
of "parts and wholes," (1994, p. 317) for I see the arrows representing
interaction in Bubolz and Sontag's ecosystem moving in all directions, as if
they were vibrating strands of a web, or energy forces, or "lines of
communication," as the Anishnabeg would say.

Interdependence, a type of interaction in which ecosystem components
are mutually dependent on one another, is another aspect integral to the

systems concept in human ecology (Bubolz & Sontag, 1993), as well as in native

143

beliefs. At its core, again, is the idea of relationships. As with interaction, the
"inter" of interdependence affirms the dependence of parts and wholes on
each other through relationships, through actions, exchange of resources,
communications, and ties "between" and "within."

The thunderbird and panther are expressed within the material form of
the human-built environment, and their meanings are internalized and
externalized simultaneously into and through the social-cultural level. The
essence of their beings derive from the natural physical-biological
environment. The thunderbird and underwater panther are often worshipped
and paid respect in a natural setting, their images being made of and on
natural objects (for example, porcupine quills create an image on a black-dyed
animal skin [Fig. 2, 11(b), 29, & 38], the dye made from a nut shell or tree bark).
These spiritual beings permeate the natural world, from time immemorial.
Although they form parts and wholes in each sphere of organization, they are
embedded within and throughout all the environments. They are the
embodiment of the idea of interaction, interdependence, and holism.

Other voices speak to the issue of holism and part and whole
relationships. The anthropological theory of holism articulated by Kroeber
has also been adopted and espoused by home economist Marjorie East, who felt
that we must seek the whole or holism:

The 'holistic principle' . . . stated by Dr. Kroeber . . . cannot be ignored.

From whatever angle the nature of the human animal is approached,

there is no denying that man's economic behavior, religious

institutions, and other aspects of culture are deeply influenced by his
psycho-biological characteristics. Similarly, man's body as a physical
system is affected by his religion, his occupation, his family, and other

social and cultural facts. (1973, pp. 25-26)

Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton (1981), in The Meaning of

Ihjhgg, sum up the role of the object (at the first level) and its relationship (at

the second level) within these interactive spheres, when they say:

144

Objects . . . serve to express dynamic processes within people, among
people, and between people and the total environment. These processes
might lead to either a more and more specific differentiation or
increasing integration. (p. 43)
Additionally, their discussion of objects and their ability to "express dynamic
processes" leads to a third level, the cosmic:

Through time and space humans have used objects to express, or to

explore, some of the purposes that animate their own individual lives, as

well as those that bound them to or divided them from each other. These

two dynamic centers, the personal and the social, are related . . . to a

third center of purposes, . . . the cosmic level.

In traditional societies this cosmic level includes the great natural

phenomena that control the rhythm of life: the sun, the moon, the

stars; water and fire; wind and earth. Every society has to make a

believable connection between its own purpose and those that make the

world go round. (1981, p. 38)

Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton's addition of the third "center of
purpose," the cosmic, brings us to the idea of a world view. In discussing this
perspective, Young (1994) professes that the philosophy or world view known
as human ecology is a "hydra-headed creation," but that it is also like the
compass, with its thirty-two directions, "or ways to go" (p. 312). Human
ecology seeks to be inclusive, to form linkages, to connect, unify, integrate--
the human to its environment, and vice versa. This type of thinking (and
being) has long been a vital force for Native Americans, for they seek to live
their lives through an intimate connection to the land and to others on this
earth (including the winged and four-leggeds, as the Anishnabeg would say).
In relating human ecology's concept of reciprocal interaction to the Great
lakes Indians, there seems to be a strong force which unites and bonds all
levels of relationships and environments, including the physical, spiritual
and emotional. The thunderbird and panther express these environments:

one represents unknown but seemingly beneficent forces within the air, on

one hand, bringing the nourishing rains, and on the other, thunder storms

145

and lightning; the other, the panther, represents the unknown forces of
water, a significant feature of the Great Lakes region. These energies were and
still are fearsome, representing unknown dangers. Anishnabeg peoples of the
past who depended so much on the water for their means of transportation,
and often, food, were greatly affected by these forces.

In thinking of environments, I am reminded of another image, the
house, as employed by human ecologist Carpenter. Carpenter's house
represents the idea of human ecology and its purpose. In this role, the house
becomes a symbol of many meanings, many layers, many connections. It is
the separator and connector, relating inner and outer reality, which also
extends to our relationship to our environment (1990, p. 60). As Carpenter so
aptly writes,

The logic of the house extends to the human body and its physical

context in nature. These are also our homes. The body relates inside
consciousness to outside matter. (p. 65)

Carpenter's house becomes the metaphor for how things relate to each
other. One might compare this house to the Anishnabeg's Midewiwin lodge
(the Midewigan), which is a "house" built for Mide' initiation rites [see Fig. 39].
This lodge, or house, becomes the entire universe for the initiate and
practitioners. Within is erected the sacred cedar pole, the axis mundi. There is
also, within, a circumscribed path to represent the path of life. Animals, or
spirits, benevolent and malevolent, symbolizing those from upper and lower
worlds, are within and without the doors (Hoffman, 1885-86).

Similarly, in relating the metaphor of house to this study of parts and
wholes, its ability to connect one with many meanings, many layers, and many

associations can be compared to those of parts and wholes. Just as the house

146

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3
5....-. XM

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Fig. 39(a & b). Diagram and illustration of Midewigan of the first degree. At top
(a), number 3 denotes the sacred cedar post; at bottom (b), the interior of this
structure is shown; from Hoffman (1885-86).

147

connects and separates, so too do parts and wholes. Carpenter says that "like
clothing, architecture separates . . . Myth and art are the only languages that
reach across" (p. 66). The art (and related myth) of the image/symbol of an
object connects one to the thunderbird and the panther in various ways and at
various levels. The image is like the walls, roof, doors, and windows of the
house, the connection between the inner and the outer; the self and other;
earthly and spiritual.

In summation, the idea of parts and wholes is a dynamic means for con-
sidering relationships in this study. It is a vital part of the human ecological

perspective, which is interactive, process-oriented, and inclusive.

Exloring the Evidence

Guided by the outline designed for the part-whole analysis of an
artifact, and with information collected on the artifact data collection form
and from interviewees, I was able to begin exploring ways in which parts and
whole relationships were evident within the sample of artifacts collected.

Grouping objects into sets and subsets facilitated comparison. See Table 5.
Table 6. Sets and Subsets Used to Compare Images

1. Objects exhibiting one side (pouches, bandolier bags, garters,
headbands, paintings, and photographs, for example)

thunderbird(s) only

underwater panther(s) only

both thunderbird(s) and underwater panther(s)
thunderbird(s) and other image(s)

underwater panther(s) and other image(s)

2. Objects exhibiting two sides (woven bags, cradleboards, and shale
discs, for example)

148

thunderbird(s) on both sides
underwater panther(s) on both sides
thunderbird(s) and panther(s) together on side 1 and side 2
thunderbird(s) on side 1; panther(s) on side 2
thunderbird(s) on side 1; other image(s) on side 2
underwater panther(s) on side 1; other image(s) on side 2
thunderbird(s) and underwater panther(s) in many

forms, one on each side
thunderbird(s) and underwater panther(s) in many

forms, used together on both sides

3. Objects exhibiting many sides (moccasins, drums, pipe stem and bowl,
quillboxes, pottery, and sculpture, for example)

one thunderbird

one underwater panther

thunderbird(s) and underwater panther(s) together
thunderbird(s) and other image(s) together
thunderbird(s) in many forms

Spatial presentations were also important to consider those that were
horizontal; vertical; images in a pair; images in groupings of pairs; repetition
of many individual images and forms; and joined images, such as joined hands
or tails and joined portions of hourglass forms.

Most of the artifacts analyzed were objects exhibiting one side, with a
large portion being clothing accessories (such as pouches and garters) and
related items, and art objects such as paintings. In considering the subsets,
one is presented often with the image or images of only one or the other of
these beings (thunderbird or panther), suggesting the distinct power of the
particular spirit portrayed. It is especially noticable in dress. Note the black-
dyed pouch with the thunderbird that Reverend Peter Jones is wearing, as
shown in the photograph [Fig. 35]. Even though he converted to Christianity,
his heritage is strongly evident in his dress. This bag, as well as his headdress,
refer to his given name, Kahkewaquonaby, which he elaborates on in his

posthumously published book:

149

Many . . . names are taken from the thunder gods, who . . . exist in the
shape of large eagles. My name . . . belongs to this class, and signifies
"Sacred Feathers." . . . These feathers plucked from the eagle represent

the plumes of the supposed Thunder god, by which it flies from one end

of the heavens to the other. When my name was given me, a bunch of

eagles' feathers was prepared for the occasion. It was considered
sacred, as it represented the speed of the thunder and the eagle. At the
same time I received a war-club, to which they tied a little bunch of
dried deers' hoofs, denoting the power with which I should be invested
by the Thunder to become a brave and mighty warrior; and a little

canoe, to show that I should have success in crossing the waters. (1861,

p. 160)

The remaining objects exhibiting one side display both the thunderbird
and underwater panther together, each a part within the whole. On occasion,
two objects together will represent a whole. There is a set of needles of buffalo
rib used in weaving mats [#82- 83] held together in a wooden case. Each one
has a different spirit represented: one has wavy lines along its edge to denote
the panther, while the other has incised tail feathers at the end to signify the
thunderbird. Yet held in their case, together, as sacred objects are held in the
pouch or Mide' bag, they, as parts, suggest the creation of a whole within the
world of their wooden case.

Objects exhibiting two sidesuprimarily woven bags and the shale discs--
included almost half with the thunderbird image on one side and the panther
on the other side in naturalistic form. As expressed by Phillips, each side
represents its power of the upper or under world, with the world of man
between, represented by the objects held inside the bag (1989). The other
largest part of the sample displays the panther and thunderbird together on
one side (sometimes both sides) of an object, at times combining realistic and
geometric representations together. Four objects have the thunderbird on one

side and another image on the other side; one has geometric images of the

thunderbird and underwater panther together on each side; and lastly, one

150

bag has a combination of naturalistic and geometric images of the panther on
both sides of the bag.

Fifteen objects display more than one or two sides. Seven have either a
single thunderbird or single underwater panther. Three represent the
thunderbird in many forms, one of which is a piece of pottery. It has four
types of images to represent the thunderbird: two styles in natural form of the
entire image, feathers that stand for this being, and rain clouds (symbolizing
its gift of rain to Mother Earth and and her inhabitants). Three objects display
the thunderbird and another image. A modern example is a sculpture
depicting the eagle on one side and an Indian on the other. They are joined,
inseparably, one to the other, yet each is a part in this world, and in another.
The last two in this category are of the thunderbird and underwater panther
together, as portrayed on a modern quillbox [#120, Fig. 8(a)] and on a canoe.

In reviewing the artifacts according to spatial presentations, DeLong's
discussion of Gestalt organizing factors and part modifiers assisted my
analysis. The images are at times organized in horizontal layers, thus alluding
to the cosmological layering of upper and lower worlds with Mother Earth
between. Verticality is especially employed in finger woven bags and the mat,
as if providing a picture frame within which to present these powerful
beings. Many images are in pairs, always facing each other afronte'. When
shown in layers of pairs, generally each pair is slightly different from the
pair above or below (this is true for individuals, one above the other), seeming
to denote different powers in different divisions of a particular space. As will
be discussed in relationship to a quilt, there are a number of artifacts that
repeat the same image in equal spacing and placement throughout, suggesting

power in numbers or even, as DeLong says, "numerical dazzle" (1987, p. 103).

151

The last subset considered is those images that are joined, such as the
humans in the skin Mide' robe [Fig. 14] ; and objects with rows of thunderbirds
and humans with joined hands [#16, 64]; and those with rows of joined
inverted triangle bases that are assembled on garters and bags opposite each
other, creating a space between [#18, 55, Fig. 19]. They are parts that form a
new whole, and as Mark says, the space between is to allow for the continuous
flow of energy, power.

In conclusion, in the presentations of the thunderbird and underwater
panther within the artifacts (excluding those of the Menomini), almost a third
were of these two spiritual beings together. More than half, however, were of
the thunderbird only, and the remaining were of the underwater panther
without the thunderbird. One must conclude that the thunderbird, in its more
beneficent role, is envisioned by the maker/user as forming a larger part of
the whole, or of the needed power of the good (the thunderbird) over evil (the
panther). Yet both images are created in presence together a third of the
time, a significant number, suggesting the relationship that both are required

in order to form the whole.

Exploring Part and Whole Relationships
through Analysis of Artifacts and Stories

An Overview about layers of Meaning

Before beginning an interpretation of an artifact using the perspective
of part and whole relationships, ways of thinking about meaning should be
briefly discussed. There appears to be is a tremendous amount of symbolism

associated with most of the artifacts examined, from prehistoric objects to

152

those of modern times. Many of the informants with whom I talked intimated
that an artifact has multiple layers of meaning. Is it possible to know what
these meanings might be?

It seems that many meanings were purposefully hidden by the maker,
such as those images on articles that were made as a result of a vision quest.
Here the vision seeker wanted the artifact to remind him or her, only, of the
precise nature of the vision, as an encapsulization of the spiritual visitation
and dream given. The symbol represented the bodily presentation of that
power given to the vision seeker alone. Thus, whenever the dreamer held or
beheld the object, the inherent power was transferred to him or her.

Symbols also went through a series of abstractions, as suggested by
Dewdney in his discussion of Mide' scrolls. "Symbol conversion" occurred
over a period of time in the passing on and copying of these scrolls from
master to student. Additionally, the Mide' master might employ various
techniques to hide symbols, "should the secrecy of his information be
uppermost in his mind . . . or to the ultimate device for misleading the
uninitiated: substitution of the significant form by another completely
irrelevant one" (1975, p. 18).

Images and their meanings were also hidden by the Anishnabeg during
times of oppression, as noted in Mary's comments and those of others
interviewed. In many cases the Anishnabeg were forbidden, often by law, to
practice their beliefs, so images were incorporated within symbols acceptable
to the dominant culture. For example, the red equal-sided cross symbolic of the
fourth degree of the Midewiwin Society was converted to the Christian cross
(Hoffman, 1885-86, McClurken, 1991). My findings concur with Ruth Phillips
(1989), who notes that a distinct shift occurred in the Great lakes region

during the nineteenth century, from a style that had portrayed very clear

153

representational images of the thunderbird and underwater panther to one
that took on "esoteric abstract patterning." As Phillips says, "It seems highly
unlikely that the expressive meaning of Great lakes Indian art could have
changed so totally and so suddenly under the stimulus of new materials and
stylistic approaches when we know that traditional religious ideas and
cosmology were still retained" (p. 67).

There also might be other reasons for hidden images, such as actions
that may have been subversive. Penney (1991) provides this perspective
about hidden images:

In the Great lakes region, development of floral style as an
expression of Indian ethnicity can be interpreted as a subversion of
mission-taught embroidery, which was considered one of the domestric
arts of civilization. As a cultural strategy, the reconfiguration of floral
embroidery on the dress breech clout, for example, resembles
detoumement as conceived by the situationists, an international group
of avant garde artists and social critics active between 1957 and 1968.
Detoumement refers to the deflection of institutional symbols of
authority and power back upon themselves by means of extracting them
from their habitual associations and "reassigning them to entirely new
purposes." The term as originally conceived describes a strategy of
social action . . . but the concept is pertinent to historical analysis of
semiotic contention over the meanings of symbols. (p. 71)

The beaded waistband or sash #51 [Fig. 26(b)] appears to have hidden
images of the thunderbird and the panther. Could these types of artifacts have
been made and worn, for example, by students "under the nose" of the
dominant white culture while at the boarding school? Obviously they were
made by families living on the reservations, as Mary stated.

Despite the fact that many meanings have been purposefully hidden
from the viewer, many were not. Such images were used as symbols of the
very spiritual nature and power of the possessor of the artifact. The person

who carried or wore such a potent object may have been a chief, a Mide' priest,

or a wabeno, for example. Not only was spiritual power suggested to the

154

viewer, through the incorporation of a symbol such as the thunderbird or
panther, but social and political status as well.

Many general ideas and beliefs were held by each of the tribes about
the underwater panther and thunderbird, as discussed in Chapters 3 and 4.
What do they tell us about the way Anishnabeg view their relationship to their
world, their fellow beings and beings in the unknown worlds? One way of
beginning to look at their beliefs and ideas about the known and unknown
regions of life is to use a part-whole construct within the ecological
framework (Young, 1989; Abler, 1992). When considering the Anishnabeg's
world, we think of all aspects of this world-not only the physical, but the
cognitive state, the spiritual, spatial, social, and material world. Traditional
Native Americans separate things into three worlds: the upper, the lower, and
the earthly, and yet, are able to synthesize the vast differences of these worlds
into one cohesive entity in thought and being.

The images and ideas about the thunderbird and panther represent a
dichotomy which is synthesized into a harmonious whole. In a sense, this
harmonious whole is somewhat like the completeness of yin and yang, which
the Chinese envision as two "primordial forces" that govern the universe,
symbolizing harmony (Rossbach, 1983). Although they are opposites, yin
being dark, passive, and female, and yang being light, active, and male, they
are complementary opposites. One is necessary for the existence of the other,
for without darkness, there would be no light, and without death, no life. The
positive and negative forces of yin and yang act as magnets, pulling each
other into an "endless sphere" or circle, which is continually interacting,
seeking balance. Rossbach quotes Iin Yun, who explains the process of Tao, a

Chinese philosophy and religious concept based on yin and yang:

155

Yin and yang merge together into one-constantly creating Tao, the
universal situation. The moon (yin) comes out and as it recedes, the sun
(yang) rises, then sets equaling one day, and this moon-sun interplay
goes on naturally, creating the Tao of heaven and earth. (1983, p. 20)

Also important in this concept is the idea that yin is not totally yin, nor
yang totally yang. As noted in the drawing of this symbol [Fig. 40], dark yin
has a portion of yang, represented by the white dot, and vice versa. Each is a
part of the other, a part of the whole.

To relate this to the Anishnabeg symbols, the underwater panther is
feline-like and has the attributes of a feline-nocturnal and with fangs to
devour prey, as well as being independent and knowing, like the cat
worshiped by the ancient Egyptians. This panther evokes the dark side of the
whole--the part relating to the subconscious, the 'great unknown,‘ the womb,
the waters of life, and regeneration. Anny says that mishipishiew is
mischievous and powerful "like a cat":

When powerful things are mischievous, it can be really disasterous

to people, or you can take that mischievousness and turn it around.

Those Thunderbirds are real big and real powerful and they are in

charge of the sky. Those Bizhous [underwater panthers] are more like

water and earth, and there's this tension between them all the time . . .

they fight. There's places where you can see where they've fought

around The lake, but those are that tension between the thunderbird
and that Bizhou.
The thunderbird, in contrast, is the embodiment of light, air, the heavens,
angel of the skyworld who carries messages to and from the Great Mystery,
who is the personification of strength and power for all good, whether in daily

life or war, and is the one who strikes at evil where ever it is found. Its power

and energy is found in the thunderclouds and brilliant lightning.

156

 

Fig. 40. Yin yang symbol (also referred to as Tai Chi).

Two examples demonstrate the synthesizing nature found in part and

whole relationships. The first is an artifact, a fiber bag; the second is a story.

Analysis of an Artifact

In analyzing a finger woven fiber bag ca. 1850 [Fig. 41], I assessed the
bag on a number of different levels. First, the purpose of the bag is to hold the
sacred medicine bundle carried by a spiritual person such as a Mide‘ priest or
Practitioner, or possibly the medicine bundle and bag carried the sacred
Objects for the whole clan or tribe (Spindler & Spindler, 1971). Thus, the
Significance of the bag is that it holds a whole sacred world of spiritual power.
It is therefore a whole. Yet the fiber bag is a part of that spirituality and
saCredness by virtue of holding sacred items. It is a layer of importance. It is

the outer layer, yet not the "final word," so to speak. It gives power to the

157

 

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1 '- ‘ \ ' .. . , - . ‘ $’.
‘ - ~\ 5”: 1” '- V~ . 1 q'. x 1 .. ‘21 1| ' .' '. _ r ‘ ,r
. iii‘iifiithzrf NM/x "’ "1’4
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Fig. 41. Twined fiber panel bag. Photocopies courtesy of Department of
Library Services, American Museum of Natural History, from neg. # 38270 &
29395. Reprinted with permission.

158

layers and objects within, and vice versa. The bag functions as a part and a
whole.

Second, the bag can be viewed from both sides, or from one side. In
each instance, it portrays a totality of experience. If one views the side with
the large thunderbird, both upper and lower spiritual worlds are expressed.
The power of the thunderbird emanates from its place in the upperworld just
below the vault of heaven (the repeated arched lines above its head) [compare
to the early discs, Fig. 10], its strong hourglass form, reemphasized by the
repeated V3 and triangles within the tail and breast, as well as by the power
lines flowing toward earth from its wings (Brasser, 1976; Cleland, 1985;
Penney, 1992; Phillips, 1989; Wilson, 1982). There are two pair of successively
smaller thunderbirds below the large one, which seem suggestive of additional
layers of power or cosmic levels, or of future generations of thunderbirds and
Anishnabeg (as stated by interviewees Ted and Yvonne), or of the role of
thunderbirds as messengers (as related by Yvonne). The full power of this
being is evident in this panel. Yet it is balanced by the positive vertical bands
and lines on either side. Within the bands are large diagonal lines which
possibly repeat and thus evoke an association with the diagonal "ribs" or
skeletal parts of the panther on the reverse side of this bag (Wilson, 1982, p.
431). Conversely, or sirnultaneoulsy, they may reinforce the supernatural
power of the thunderbird, repeating the power lines flowing from its wings.
Also, on the far side of the panel are vertical lines joined to circles, the symbol
for lines of communicationnbetween all worlds, as explained by Mark, Peter,
Army, and others.

On the reverse side are three pair of underwater panthers, located
below the surface of the lower world, as depicted by two bars at the top of the

bag. (Wilson refers to Mallery, writing in 1893, who documented an Ojibwa

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song chart which showed a feline with a bar across its neck, representing the
water's surface, and thus, the rising of the panther (1982, p. 433); also see the
panther with bar shown by Lyford [Fig. 42].) Each pair is slightly different
from the pair located above, possibly suggesting different powers or levels of
powers. The tails of each pair are joined, possibly symbolizing additional
power, unity of mind and spirit, the importance of sharing, communal
friendship, spousal union, and other ideas of wholeness and unity. The chests
on the two upper pairs suggest the double or joined diamond form often seen
associated with the panther, and seen in joined tails [for example, Fig. 11(b),
bottom]. There are also three diamonds, two positive and one negative. These
seem to indicate parts of that double diamond symbol, or reinforce the
presence of the thunderbird which is also represented by a single diamond, an
analog for its chest or heart. Above the panthers are joined Vs, which are
possibly symbols of the V of the thunderbird, the panthers' horns, joined tails,
or waves. Below the tails of the top pair is an inverted V form, possibly an
abbreviated form for joined tails, or the inverted chest, "ribs," of the
thunderbird (Wilson, 1982, p. 431). Note the diagonal "ribs" of the panther,
attesting to its supernatural power. In addition, we do not see the "face" of the
panther, as this would perhaps be too powerful, as suggested by Peter in our
interview. All are parts of the whole depending upon the intent of the maker
or the association understood by the viewer.

Again, the vertical panel lines, this time suggesting the negative image,
underworld, and world of the panther, highlight the zigzag line of lightning,
the symbol of the thunders. Conversely, the zigzag line could be the panther's
symbol for water. lastly, the vertical panel lines near the underwater

panthers are light in comparison to their dark bodies, in opposition to the solid

160

 

Fig. 42. Lyford's examples of panther images etched on birchbark; Plate 84;
1982.

dark lines close to the lighter or "airy" thunderbirds. Thus, power is balanced,
synthesized.

Each panel is a whole, and each part of the panel suggests a whole--the
world of each of these beings--and yet each is only a part of the whole bag,
which in turn is only a part of the total complex of the medicine bundle,
which is part of the everyday life of a Mide' priest. Thus we see the ‘*

multiplicity of meanings which may be synthesized within one artifact.
Analysis of a Story

The underwater panther is generally thought of as a fearsome being
with the power to create harm or evil or death. Its energy is feared and felt as
being something unknown, equated with the powers of earth and water, and

perhaps even the mystery of birth. It is also feline, with powerful tail and

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claws-the dragon, the serpent. The image of all these various aspects are
parts of the composite underwater panther in its wholeness. And as there is
beauty in ugliness, there is also beauty in the panther whose being is rounded
out to create a complete portrait-a whole. The underwater panther
personifies regeneration, too. It is suggested in the bag just described, by the
paired couples, and repetition of rows, but is also retold in the oral traditions of
the Anishnabeg.

In 1926, an Ottawa referred to by Paul Radin as J Sh, told to him this
story of the makiwina, a medicine man, and the water spirit (underwater
panther):

Copper can only be obtained by certain Indians by their priests
who have the spirit power of calling up the water-spirit. Such a man is
called makiwina. This is what he does:

Two Indian mats are put near the place where the water spirit
(micipenabik) is supposed to come ashore. Two virgins are placed, head
to head, on these mats. Then the water-spirit comes out of the water and
cuts off the heads of these girls. After this the makiwina addresses the
water-spirit saying, "We want copper from your horns." The water-
spirit then allows him to cut as large a part of his horns as his offering
entitled him to. The makiwina takes a knife and tries to cut the horn.
Only at the place that is supposed to indicate how much the water-spirit
wishes to give of his horn, can the horn be cut. At that particular place
the horn cuts as easily as butter.

The part of the horn cut off is very hot and soft and is thrown on
the sand and allowed to cool off. When it has cooled it is copper.

When the makiwina is finished he spears the water-spirit in the
side and takes a small amount of the blood which he places in a bottle
made of horn.

The girls who have been sacrificed have their heads placed on
their trunk [neck]. Then some of the water-spirit's blood is smeared
around their neck and they are restored to life. (Radin, 1926 field notes)

There are many possible layers of meaning operating in this story.
First, in thinking of the panther, one is told of the power of its horns and the
scales of its body, for they are the source of copper, precious to the

.Anishnabeg. On another level, the listener is aware of the total power

contained within the entity of the underwater panther, for its blood has the

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power to restore life. Additionally, one recognizes the power of the makiwina,
who has not only the ability to call the panther, but to know precisely how to
"mine" the copper from its horns. One is further amazed at the makiwina's
ability to control the panther again in order to take its blood, and he
"intercedes" for the panther in restoring the lives of the maidens with its
blood. Beyond the details of the story, we sense the strong tie between all the
forces of life, between the Anishnabeg and the natural world below, above,
and about them, as evidenced in the use of the bottle made of horn, and the
copper from the earth (through the panther).

This tale portrays the interconnectedness, and the give and take
between the world of humans and spiritual beings, the interplay of yin and
yang. The underwater panther willingly gives its sacred copper to man in
return for human sacrifice, and yet at the same time, the panther offers its
precious blood to man to restore life to the maidens. The panther gives of itself
completely for man's benefit. This story presents an aspect of the panther
that is a part of its totality, and a part of the Anishnabeg world view at the time
it was told to Radin. In addition, the mining of copper, with the overtones of
its secretiveness and its preciousness to these peoples then, are a part of this

totality, too.

Analysis of Contemporary Images

As well as storytellers and those who created artifacts in the past, today's
Great lakes Indian artists are exploring and presenting these powerful beings
as they perceive them. Morrisseau and Dutcher have painted underwater
panthers that are strong, bold, menacing-looking, and bristling [Fig. 30 8: 32].

Their power is magnified by multiple "power lines" bursting forth from their

163

bodies. Peter Migwans' panther is at times white - perhaps the embodiment of
evil like the white whale Moby Dick - and at times it is black, but always with
its face away from the viewer, because who can paint total "ugliness" (as
expressed by Peter)? Peter explains that because of the evil which it has done,
the panther is now the servant of the Anishnabe people, bringing them the
fish and sustenance of life. The panther, in one painting [see Fig. 9(a)], is
depicted being lassoed (by a sinuous rope to discharge its "servant" role) by an
Anishnabe wearing a thunderbird headdress. The thunderbird, in its role,
assists the Anishnabe by protecting, giving wise counsel, and "striking at evil
when it sees it" (as declared by Jay). Although the panther carried out wicked
deeds, and a terrible fight ensued between the underwater panther and the
thunderbirds, "seven miles of beautiful beach" are the result (as stated by
Peter). All is not black and white, good and evil; one is a part of the other.
To add further to the meaning of the color white as used for the
panther, Morrisseau says:
This huge cat is believed by the Ojibway to be white in colour, with
horns, and very powerful. It is believed to live in the water but why a
cat lives in the water, or where it lived, is not known. There is another
big demigod of the same cat family who was considered very evil, but
was a spirit. If anyone dreamed of this big water demi-god at the time of
fasting it was believed to bring misfortune, not to the dreamer but to his
children. . . . This big water god, or spirit, knew both good and evil. It
all depended on what kind of nature an Indian had. If he were good
then he would have the power to do good. If he were bad then he was
given power to do bad. But the true water god, the white one in colour,
always brought good luck to all who respected him. (1965, p. 27)
As the color white is here associated with the underwater panther,
black is a contingent symbol for the thunderbird to many Anishnabeg.
Barbara, however, associates the colors of orange, yellow and red with the

thunderbird, expressing its nature as "fiery," the highest expression for God.

The colors "blue and purple would be too cool."

164

Artist Anny Hubbard's thunderbirds are the blackness of the thunder
clouds and also the gold and silver of the energy of lightning. Her paintings
of the thunderbird and panther project a playfulness, and yet a sense of awe
and respect [Fig. 31]. Her images are frequently associated with the feminine
(note "Woman Transforming into a Thunderbird," Fig. 43), and women are
often in the water with the panther. There are undercurrents of tension in
the upper and lower worlds, yet there is a tenuous balance in each picture
involving both beings. As with most of these artists, there are lines of
communication flowing between all the worlds, represented by lines that have
elliptical or egg-shaped forms on them.

Yvonne Keshick's quillwork represents a connectedness to the totality
of Anishnabeg thought. She uses only the natural elements of her world, the
inner bark of the birch, the vanilla-scented sweetgrass, and the natural quills,
undyed, of "brother" gauk, the porcupine. The artwork she prefers to portray
are the animals, birds, and plants, plus the symbols, of the Anishnabeg world.
Yvonne's quillbox top [Fig. 8(a)], with the thunderbird and panthers within
the circle of the box, includes parts and wholes, as explained by the artist:

I drew a circle [describing her design process] and put an eagle
in. The eagle [representing the thunderbird] . . . [has] its wings folded
around for our world, and the underwater panther is something that's
in 9h; world, even though we don't understand what it is. . . . Ottawas
live in two worlds. We live in our world and "down-in—that-society"
world. So, it's in our world. So the white interior on this box top is a
symbol, like, for our world, the panthers' world. [It] can't "make" [give
birth to] more panthers with only one, so they have to be a pair. One is
larger than the other, too, and so I made a pair, a couple, so there could
be more. And in making the pair, so there would be offspring, it's a
symbol for us, teaching our younger children about the panther, even
though we don't really understand it, telling them about it, and so that
they will be familiar with it, or have some ideas on hearing about it. But
it's important, I think.

The eagle is out of respect, you know, for the respect that the

m]; have for the eagle. The feelings-everybody thinks of the eagle
as being strong, the most strong, powerful bird, and I wanted to show

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this one kind of like protecting the panther, and because of the carried
prayers.

 

Fig. 43. "lady Transforming into a Thunderbird," by Army Hubbard;
photograph by the author; from the Collections of the Jesse Besser Museum.

Results of Analysis

The thunderbird and the underwater panther are each a part of the
whole. The Anishnabeg world view is one in which there is a community of
believers and a community of spiritual beings, as I envision it. This thought
stems from looking at the early Mide' robe [Fig. 14] with its symbolism of the
panthers in the center, and layers of other symbols extending outward,
including two sets of the sacred number four, until one arrives at the humans,
with hands joined, surrounding, and yet a part of, this "community."

In looking, for example, at subsets of artifacts that have rows of
thunderbirds or panthers, or large groupings of them, one is impressed with
the suggestion that there may be one master Thunderbird or Underwater

Panther, but there are many thunderbirds and underwater panther powers in

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the universe. As portrayed by Alice Fox's quilts [Fig. 25 & 36(b)], where there
are rows of thunderbirds, one is struck with the comparison of these to her
story about the cultural hero, Nanabush, who joins the flock of thunderbirds
flying east, and his experience with them [see Alice Fox's story in Appendix B
(a)]. There is the implication that we are all a part of the whole, a part of the
community. Humans are only one of many beings, animal, vegetable, mineral,
or spiritual. We are part of the whole. We must therefore share and co-
operate within this whole. That is the power behind the persistence of these
symbols, and the power in the beliefs and traditions of these cultures.

In summary, artifacts, as well as stories and myth, provide a wealth of
meaning, which can be investigated through the construct of part and whole
relationships. By analyzing sets and subsets through the incorporation of data
provided by primary sources, as well as secondary sources, one can begin to
"consider the multiplicity of meanings" operating, and begin to appreciate the
richness of symbolic meaning. In a plea to fellow human ecologists and
academics about the proper training of future human ecologists, Young
succinctly sums up my viewpoint when he declares that students must be
taught "a different 'rnind set' or world-view: a shift from 'parts' to dialectic

consideration of parts and wholes . . ." (1994, p. 317). One must consider all.

CHAPTER 6
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This chaper includes a summary as well as a discussion of the
conclusions and implications of the study. The thesis closes with a list of

recommendations for further study.

Summary of the Study

The study of the thunderbird and underwater panther, symbols used by
the Great lakes Indians of Michigan, evolved from the realization that these
images had not been studied over time, particularly with relation to their use
and meaning within contemporary cultures. This study was undertaken to
document and examine artifacts that incorporated these images, as well as to
determine changes in form and meaning, if any, as well as to relate them to
cultural influences. In addition, the study explored the human ecological
concept of part and whole in relation to these images.

The Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi were prominent tribes in Michigan
at the time of European contact in the seventeenth century. They called
themselves Anishnabeg, and were joined through bonds of customs, dialect
and kinship. Their subsistence activities were tied to the environment, with
hunting and fishing predominating in the northern areas, while farming of
corn, squash, and beans was a way of life further south. With the arrival of

Europeans, their lives changed significantly. Missionaries sought religious

167

168

conversions; and the constant change of politics of the region, as well as
nations, affected their lives. Much of their land gradually lost, as well as many
of their customs and traditions.

Objective 1: The first objective was to examine and document the
material culture of the Great lakes Indians (the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and
Potawatomi) which contain images of the thunderbird and underwater
panther.

Data for the study were gathered through primary and secondary
written sources, as well as through the examination of artifacts located in
museums and private collections. Additionally, members of these three tribes
were interviewed for information relating to these images.

An artifact data collection form was designed based on a model
developed by Fleming and another by Smith. An outline was designed to assist
in the analysis of part and whole relationships, a portion of which was
incorporated into the artifact data collection form. I developed the artifact
form from the object catalogue forms used in the Historic Collection of the
Department of Human Environment and Design in the College of Human
Ecology and the Michigan State University Museum, incorporating details for
analysis from these sources as well as from Fig. 1. The use of the artifact form
was very helpful in the final analysis of the artifacts. During the
documentation visit, it was at times cumbersome to try to record all
information observed about the object. At times, only a few notes were made
regarding parts and whole relationships during the visit; however, more in-
depth analysis was completed later. During the study, the Munsell color system
was used, but it became unmanageable due to the extensive use of colors in

some items; instead, I looked for dominant colors and "patterns" of color use.

169

The artifacts were organized through time by category: clothing and
accessories, textiles, other household items, ceremonial objects, art, weaponry,
photographs or postcards, and travel related artifacts. Artifacts were
organized within five time periods for analysis to determine changes in form
and usage, if any, and influences related to these. Additionally, a special
detailed analysis of bags and pouches was completed, demonstrating the usage
of the artifact study form.

After the analysis of artifacts, the objects were organized into other
groupings of sets and subsets for analysis of part and whole relationships.
Data from all the various sources of the study were incorporated into the
analysis.

Objective 2: The second objective was to determine when changes in
form and function of these images occurred.

The study revealed that the forms of the images remained consistent
over time. In comparing contemporary forms with those found on the shale
discs and rocks from the pre-contact period, stylistic attributes remain the
same or similar. Variations occur with each artist, but the style of the
thunderbird and underwater panther on contemporary forms contain the
same elements as the early forms. Variations occur by artist through personal
re-interpretation of the form that are divergent from the traditional form.
Variation in form represents integration through acculturation into a new
form more representative of modern society.

Throughout all time periods, the thunderbird was represented in a
realistic form, although the number was limited after the Indian Removal Act
of 1830, until the 1970s. There is no evidence of the underwater panther in
realistic form in the material culture examined during the time period of 1930-

1969, except the two paintings by Ojibwa artist Morrisseau toward the end of

170

this period. This observation suggests a gradual visual disappearance within
the material culture of this symbol due to its connotation as malevolent by
non-Indians. Also suggested is the loss of meaning of these symbols over time,
when traditions were cut off or curtailed. However, with the renewal and
revival of tribal traditions, these images are becoming more prevalent and the
underwater panther is reappearing.

Objective 3: The third objective was to analyze changes in the form
and function of images in relation to cultural influences.

A study of the artifacts revealed that clear representational images were
made during the pre- and early-contact periods. Contact with peoples from
European cultures resulted in a lessening of representational images and
greater use of geometric figures. This is perhaps the result of the white
culture's viewing the thunderbird and underwater panther, and other native
beliefs, in a negative way. Missionaries wished to convert Anishnabeg to
Christianity and replace their images and symbols with Christian ones. Peter
Jones (1861), for example, a Missasauga Indian minister who had converted to
Christianity, writing in the 18503, implies that native beliefs were considered
pagan.

The use of geometric styles by the Anishnabeg, particularly during the
period beginning with the reservation system, seems to suggest that these
symbols were being purposefully hidden. This was the result of cultural
persecution, through loss of homeland, values, and traditions. Also, as
suggested by Penney (1991), the incorporation of images within geometric
styles and floral patterns was an expression of detournement, a kind of
rebellion against learning embroidery work under the boarding school
system, as well as a rebellion against all other treatment that can be imposed

by one culture upon another.

171

Also evident is the change in material culture itself. Very early images
that remain have been incised or painted on objects such as stone. Other
remaining objects from the early periods after contact (1780-1830) have used
or incorporated these images on natural artifacts such as skin and other
animal parts, wood, stone, and vegetal fibers (woven mats and fingerwoven
bags, for example). These objects soon changed to include man-made materials
such as manufactured cloth, beads, thread, silver, and tin. Over time, black-
dyed skin pouches changed to cloth bandolier bags; and mats made from
vegetal fibers and blankets made of furs evolved into quilts made from cloth.
The form of the images was changed somewhat due to the change from natural
materials such as porcupine quills and moosehair to the use of beads. The use
of these new materials in preference to the old suggest a greater ease in use by
the maker of the object, as well as trade occurring for these items.

Viewpoints and related meanings about the thunderbird and
underwater panther, and associated symbols, were compared using the data
collected in the interviews. These were used to develop major themes and
findings within contemporary Anishnabeg thought. The use of interviews as
a means for gathering data provided consistent information about the loss of
tribal knowledge, as well as some loss of meaning about these two images, due
to the curtailed teaching of heritage and traditions to the younger generations
by the older generation. Stories and myths were also collected through
written sources and interviews to add to the data.

Conclusions about the meanings of these symbols is that they are varied
and wide. The thunderbird is generally viewed as being benevolent, while the
panther is considered malevolent. For meanings related to those symbols of
the pre-contact period, one can only surmise. Post-contact meanings can be

determined in part through ethnographic sources and a few writings by the

172

Anishnabeg themselves during the nineteenth century. There seems to be a
significant loss of meaning from the post-ethnographic period of
approximately the 19303 to the 19703, when traditions were not passed from
one generation to the next, except in limited degrees. Within the
contemporary period, however, meanings are being rediscovered. Those that
were passed on through traditional means are resurfacing, and new meanings
are sought and developed to bridge the past with the present.

Objective 4: The last objective was to explore the human ecological
concept of part and whole relationships as related to the Great Lakes Indians'
use of these images in their material culture.

The exploration of part and whole relationships through the literature
of human ecologists and textile scholars led me to the development of an
analysis on three levels, proceeding from the concrete to the abstract. At the
first level, the material object or designed form is investigated for relations of
parts to whole; then, the relationships are analyzed in terms of components
and processes of a system; and finally, they are considered in terms of a world
view. One level, many levels, or all, may be considered for study.

Findings related to the relationship of part and whole in the study
revealed that a continuing world view has been carried forward from
generation to generation. It is based in the belief that all connections to all
life (human, animal, plants, earth, other-than-human) are important; and that
the beliefs are passed down to provide a vision to those following in the future.

An additional finding resulting from the use of the outline designed for
the study of part and whole relationships was its adaptability to the study of
symbols. It provides a clear methodology for inquiry into relationships,

leading to discovery of multiple levels of meaning. As such, it can add to the

173

body of knowledge related to part and whole relationships that is being
investigated within the human ecological paradigm.

lastly, the study revealed that the examination of symbols and
relationships of part and whole are significant to:

0 all humans, as a means of exploration of relationships within one's
culture and those of others

0 provide a way of sharing attitudes and insights about ways of living

0 promote diversity while acknowledging similarity of human
experience

0 the realization that symbols are nonverbal communicators that

connect peoples and people to their environment.

Recommendations for Future Studies

Throughout this study, many more questions were raised, perhaps, than

were answered. Some areas that need further exploration are:

0 the study of the additional geometric designs found in Great Lakes
Indian material culture and their relationship to these two images and/or
their cultures.

0 a comparative study of the meaning of imagery to men (who receive
dream/vision) to those of women, who are the makers of the image; the
meaning to men who both dream and make images; the meaning to women
who both dream and make images. It is interesting to conjecture as to women's
role in the control of the image/ symbol, or the types of images made, since
women made the textiles. As Dorothy Burnham comments about design motifs

on painted caribou-skin coats which she studied:

174

Less than half of these [designs] might be considered of significance
worthy of a hunter's dream. When the decoration of the coats is
carefully analysed it seems likely that one or perhaps two main motifs
were dictated by the man, while the rest was left up to the woman. (1992,

P- 2)

0 a study of other images/symbols of the Great lakes Indians such as
the cross, circle, and animals (the deer and the bear, for example).

0 a study of images worn on pow-wow regalia by participants, as well as
those images found on other material culture artifacts at pow-wows.

0 a contemporary cross-cultural comparison of the thunderbird and
underwater panther, within various tribes across the United States.

0 a comparison of symbols associated with the thunderbird and the

underwater panther to those of other cultures around the world.

175

Epilogue

A major impact of the study was the process of interviewing Great lakes
Indians, which led to a greater understanding, as well as a deeper response to
spirituality. Meeting and talking with Anishnabeg elders, leaders,
administrators, and artists was fulfilling and rewarding. They were sincere in
wanting to help me understand their culture, and in describing their
viewpoints and experiences. Unforgettable memories will remain of each talk,
of a trip to the sacred Agawa Rock, and the sharing of sacred experiences.
There is the realization that I have only begun to understand the thunderbird
and underwater panther as beings which are a part of the Anishnabeg
culture.

larger issues continue to come to my mind: the importance of each
person, family, group, tribe, culture as being a separate, distinct part or entity,
yet being a part of the whole of humanity, which in turn is only a part of the
whole of existence here on earth.

Rethinking the worth and meaning of a study to the investigator, I have
one constant thought that pervades all others as to the meaning of this
endeavor to me personally: I have been transformed. From my initial
acquaintance with the subject matter in an introductory archaeology class, to
my first glimpse of the thunderbird and underwater panther on a Great lakes
Indian woven bag, I have been enthralled. little did I know the extent of time
I would be involved in visiting museums and collections to discover if there
were any more artifacts to be found. And each time I came face to face with
one, I was enchanted all over again. But most enjoyable, most illuminating,

most transforming, for me, was my interactions with the peoples of the Three

176

Fires. My memories will never leave me. And the very spiritual places I
visited will forever have a strong draw, calling me to return. I am no longer
the same person who started out on this journey. I suspect that this type of
change in the researcher is an integral part of the process, for as human
ecologist Gerald Young has said, "Human ecology is transcendental . . . [and it]

acknowledges the mystical or spiritual" (1991, pp. 14, 19).

animiki -

atiso 'kanak -

j essakki d -

kitchimanitou -

manitou -

mashkikikewinnini

megis, migis -

177

GLOSSARY

thunder beings

spiritual beings, "grandfathers," who are major characters
in myths and sacred stories

a seer or prophet whose power was bestowed by the
thunderbird

the great spirit, the highest power, theGreat Mystery
spiritual beings or powers

- medicine man, a specialist (often a woman) with detailed
knowledge of plants and herbs

sacred shell, small and white, used in the Midewiwin
ceremony to "shoot" the initiate and infuse him or her

with power and immortality

michipishiew (misshipeshu, bizhou, micipijin, mishi-peshu) - various names

midewigan -

midewiwin -

pa wagan -

pawaganak -

pickos 'an -

for the underwater panther

ceremonial lodge of the Midewiwin

The Grand Medicine Society, devoted to perpetuating
knowledge and skill related to herbal healing, and the
continuation of teachings in spiritual life

means "peace pipe"

spiritual beings who possess great powers, sought through
dreams or a vision quest

Potawatomi name for a sacred bundle which holds sacred

objects

pimadaziwin -

pin ji 'gusan

shaman

wabeno

178

the central goal in life, to live it to the fullest, seeking
longevity, health, and freedom from misfortune

the Mide' sack, usually of otter skin, which held the megis
a spiritual leader or practitioner who mediates between
humans and the supernatural, often through a vision or
trance

"men of the dawn" or "eastern men;" a spiritual specialist

who obtained power from a dream vision

APPENDICES

179

APPENDIX A
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS

(a) Letter to Museums and Collections

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

MJSELM

Date

Director/Curator

Dearborn Historical Museum
915 Brady St.

Dearborn, MI 48124

Dear Director/Curator:

In cooperation with Michigan State University Museum and the Department of
Human Environment and Design, I am enclosing a questionnaire requesting
information about your collection. This information is for a thesis project
concerning the material culture of the Great lakes Indians. I am a graduate
student at Michigan State University and am investigating clothing, textiles
and other artifacts of the Great lakes Indians which Incorporate symbols
known as the Thunderbird and Underwater Panther.

For the past two years I have been working with the historic collections in the
Department of Human Environment and Design, and am currently working on
a collaborative project with Michigan State University Museum. My
responsibilities include accessioning, cataloguing, exhibiting, conserving and
storing costume, textiles and other historic objects. My experience in working
with historic collections has made me aware of the importance of not only the
care and preservation of these objects, but the importance in understanding
the particular history of an artifact in relating its meaning to its culture.
Because of my interest in history, material culture, and the culture of the
Great lakes Indians, I am studying iconography in their material culture, and
its meaning and relationship to their world view.

As I am investigating the Thunderbird and Underwater Panther. I have
included a few photocopies of representational images which may be of help.

I would appreciate your filling out the questionnaire and returning it to me in
the enclosed, self-addressed stamped envelope by date.

Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation in this project.

Sincerely,

(Mrs.) Marie A. Gile

East Lansing, Michigan USA 48814-1045 15171 155-2370 FAX 51.7) 3345:2346

o.- L4 1', '..r'..'. .‘ v' Dr' " Cu) 22,". v

180

(b) Survey Questionnaire

QUESTIONNAIRE
ARTIFACTS WITH COMPLETE OR PARTIAL IMAGES (SYMBOLS) OF THE
THUNDERBIRD AND/ OR THE UNDERWATER PANTHER

Your Institution:

Your Name and Title:
Address:
Phone/Fax No.: Date:

1. Does your collection contain any artifacts that are designated as American
Indian or Native American that contain possible images of the Thunderbird or
Underwater Panther?

Yes. .. .._ _ No___
Can you determine the origin of most of the pieces?

Yes No __
2. Does your collection have any artifacts specified from the Great lakes area
that incorporate the image (or possible image) of the Thunderbird (a birdlike
image) and/or the Underwater Panther (cat, fish, or snake image)?

Yes No ._

3. If yes, the approximate number of artifacts that you have:

Textile (for example: mat, wall hanging)

 

Clothing
Other

181

Survey Questionnaire (cont'd).
4. If the above answers are not known, may I visit your collection to search
your card catalogue and storage area for Great lakes Indian artifacts with
these images?

Yes No ._
5. May I examine and photograph your collection's examples?

Yes No _.
6. What procedure would you like me to use to schedule an

awointment?

 

 

7. Do you have any suggestions for individuals in your area whom I may
contact who might have additional information, such as private collectors of

Native American objects? Please include their names and addresses.

 

 

 

Thank you again for your time and interest in answering these questions, and
in assisting me in my study. Please return this questionnaire by date in the
enclosed envelope.

Marie A. Gile

Michigan State University Museum

East lansing, MI 48824-1045

Phone: (517) 355-2370; FAX (517) 336-2846

9.1121413};
Type of Artifact

Museum/Collection

Contact person

Dimensions:

Objecm

182

(c) Artifact Study Worksheet

Date
Cat. No.
Phone/Fain

 

Major motif

Secondary motifs
Other motifs
Border(s)

Materials:
Outer

Other
Trim (added details)

Inner
Motif (if different from basic material)

 

Color(s): Mjr. motif
Other motifs
Background

Motif (side one):

Style: Realistic

Secondary motifs
Borders
Other

Geometric Other

 

Details: Head
Body (Outer)

Tail
(Inner)

 

Other features

Motif (side two/ other):

Style: Realistic

 

 

Geometric Other

 

Details: Head
Body (Outer)

TaiL
(Inner)

 

Other features

Construction:
Method of seaming

 

Type of thread

183
Artifact Study Worksheet (cont'd).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finishing/ Edges: Motif applicatiom
Workmanship Signs of Wear
History:

Place of Origin: Date of Origin

Maker. Purchaser/ Collector
Pa rt / W h ole:

1. Smallest whole element:
2. Relationship to the next largest whole
3. (litto)
4. (Iltto)
5. (IXtto)
6. (Ditto)
7. (Ditto)
8. (Ditto)

(continue on separate sheet if needed)
Relationship of pair(s)

 

Relationship of mjr motif to other motifs
Spatial arrangement of mjr lines
Rel'nship of top to middle to bottom
Rel'nship of side 1 to other side(s)

 

 

Rel'nship of materials to environment
Rel'nship of artifact to worldview

Other Part/Whole Observations (extent of use of
thunderbird/underwater panther on artifact, etc.):

 

 

 

Add'l observations:

 

 

 

 

References:

 

 

184

((1) Interview Collection Form

Name and age (or birthdate)

Tribal affiliation or ethnic background

Number of years lived at present residence

Information known about the images of the Thunderbird and Underwater
Panther (photographs of examples of some objects incorporating them
available to show)

First awareness of the images

Usage and meaning of these images in:
Parents home as a child and/or today
Own home
Home of friends as a child and/or today

Other situations

Items made within the home using these images/symbols

Personal meaning of the images to interviewee

Objects or items of clothing with these images owned by interviewee, and how
they are used

Stories or tales about the Thunderbird and/or the Underwater Panther

Others who could tell me more about these images/ symbols

185

(e) Interviewee Consent Form

CONSB‘JT FORM RELATING TO THE STUDY OF
THE THUNDERBIRD AND UNDERWATER PANTHER
IN THE AMERICAN INDIAN CULTURES
OF THE GREAT IAKES

I hereby authorize Marie A. Gile to record on tape, in
photograph(s), or otherwise any information that I may provide that
relates to the Thunderbird or Underwater Panther as a part of the
culture of the American Indians of the Great Lakes region in story or
otherwise. I also give her permission to publish quotations or
summaries of quotations, without my being named, from the above
information in her Master's thesis being written through the
Department of Human Environment and Design, College of Human
Ecology, Michigan State University at East lansing, Michigan. In
addition, I underStand that the information may be used in future
journals, newspaper articles, or in educational materials.

The tape or tapes and the accompanying transcript are the
result of one or more recorded, voluntary interviews with me. Any
reader should bear in mind that the transcript being read is of my
spoken, not my written, word and that the tape, not the transcript, is
the primary document.

I understand that my answers will be kept strictly confidential
and used only for the purposes described above and that I have the
right to withdraw from this project at any time. I also understand
that my participation will involve one, or possibly two, meetings of
approximately thirty minutes to an hour. I reserve the right to
review the transcript of this conversation before future use. Yes...
No____ I agree that the tape(s), transcript, and/ or photograph(s) may
be released to the Michigan State University Museum's Traditional
Arts Archives. Yes... No...

Signed:

 

Date:

 

Understood and agreed to:

Interviewer: Date:

 

Accession Number”.

 

186

APPENDIX B
SELECTED STORIES, FOLKTALES AND MYTHS

(a)

Nanabush and his grandma, they lived together, and they were very
happy. The grandmother took care of her grandson and taught him about life-
-everything that she knew. And one day the grandmother said, "The
thunderbirds are coming to visit us. They're on their way east and they're
stopping by here. So Nanabush, just a teenager, he was so happy to think that
they were going to have visitors. So when the thunderbirds arrived, they
heard a rumble like the thunder. And they arrived with all their feathers.
And they had drums.

Nanabush said, "You're going east? I'd like to go with you. Take me."

The older thunderbird said, "Oh, I don't think you can follow the rules. I
don't think it would be a good idea." So finally some other thunderbird said,
"Oh, yes, I think he'll listen. I think he's a good boy. He'll listen." Then
finally the leader said, "OK. You follow the rules. If you don't, you're going to
come tumbling out of the sky."

And Nanabush was frightened. "I'll follow the rules carefully."

"And the thunderbird ahead of youuwhere he steps, that's where you
step."

And they also gave him the drum. And they said, "When you hear
drumming, and the ones around you are drumming, you go easy on your drum,

because if you go too loud, you'll scare the peoples down below on the earth."

187

And they left, and he hugged his grandma bye-bye. And she said, "Be
good. listen. Do what you're told." And away they went. Sure enough, he --
the big thunderbird, the older ones first, and then the second group, and then
he was in the third group - the younger ones. And later he heard the first
group, the older ones, they were drumming. And then the second group were
drumming, and then the younger ones. And he followed the rules. Finally
again, they were drumming again. Same thing. Finally the third time, the
older ones were going louder, and the middle ones - they too were going
louder, and the younger ones were going louder, and they were just having a
grand time. And he was. He didn't care. He forgot about he is not supposed to
drum loud. They had told him, "Drum easy, don't scare the people down
below." And he was drumming and drumming away with all his might and the
people down below were so frightened. Oh, they were so scared. And all of a
sudden, looking up at the sky, they saw something coming out of the sky. It
was coming down. The thing fell into the marsh. So they all gathered. "Let's
go see what that thing [was that] fell in the marsh." They went over there and
out of the mud came Nanabush. His eyes were blinking, and he was just full of
mud, mud - his eyes were just full of mud. And the people said, "Oh, we might
have known. We should have known it was Nanabush. We know the way he

is." I guess when he was out with his friends, he was really terrible. 5

 

6. Story as told to author by Alice Fox in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, September
7, 1994.

188

(b)

Well, this guy, at one time, he was an enemy of the native people, and he
went into villages and devoured some people. So the people got together and
said "We've got to do something." So they made council and they said "Well,
this has got to be dealt with." So they had a meeting and they got the
thunderbirds at that time to convene and sit in on the meeting. So they told
them what this guy was doing, this panther, or Mishmishshu, or how they say
it in so many words, or dialects. And they told the thunderbirds. And the
thunderbirds said, "Well, O.K., we'll have to observe what he is doing."

And so it came again that he emerged again from the waters--and this
was in Georgian Bay! So he went in and got a couple of human beings there,
the Nishnabe. And then the thunderbirds saw that, and then came to the next
council and said, "Yes, we know what he has done. We know that he has to be
terminated, or dealt with."

And so, they made a pact there (or something), that when this guy
strikes again--that they will come from the water--that they were going to
deal with him. So, he did come out again, and the thunderbirds were all ready
for him; and they started a fight which lasted seven days, mind you! Seven
days! And that's why today, in Georgian Bay-(There were all rocks all around
that bay before the fight.)--after the fight, we have a beach there now called
Wausaga Beach. It's all seven miles of sand. That's where the fight took place.
It was rocky before. It was all rocks. There was no sand. After that fight took
place, there was seven miles of beautiful beach. And that's why we have that
beach there today because of that fight between these-the thunderbirds. And

so this beast here got defeated. And they said-(They were going to kill him.)--

189

but they said, "No, we'd better not," because they didn't believe in killing, so,
even though this guy did that; they still didn't do it. They still didn't kill him.

They told him instead, "You're going to go back. Your sentence is,
you're going to go back into the lake. You'll be taking care of the Great lakes,
especially lake Superior, and especially Georgian Bay, and lake Michigan,
lake Huron. You'll be all over. You'll be busy the rest of your eternity. You'll
feed these people you demolished. You'll go all through the villages all around
the Great lakes and you'll control the fish. You'll bring them the fish. You'll
send the fish up in the fall to feed the people. You know, you'll do all that.
And you'll send them the whitefish up in the spring to feed them again. And
you'll do all that. And you'll control the waters-«hat they don't go over and
they don't go undernthat they will always remain stable. Like going in the
whirlwinds or whatever, you'll never raise a ruckus, and you'll keep the Great
lakes always at an even keel. (This sentence was a long sentence!) And later
on you might--you thigh; (they told him)--you might get respect, because of
the deeds you have done. And the bad deeds you have done will maybe, later on
in eternity, will be forgotten because of the good deeds you have been charged
with to do."

This is why I've got good respect for this guy. I know what he's done,
but he does that today. I see that-the rainbow. I see the sahnon, and all these
other things come up rivers. And Whitefish come up rivers. The suckers come
up rivers at a certain time of year. He sends them there for the people to eat.
So the people can salt. So the people can dry, or whatever. This is the guy that

does that. He controls the Great lakes.7

 

7Story as told to author by Peter Migwans in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada,
September 8, 1994.

190

(C)

A man and his wife lived in a wigwam way out in the woods. She was
expecting a child. He went out hunting and when he came back a few days
later he found part of the wigwam torn down and hairs and pieces of buckskin
dress lying on the ground. And he saw great big man tracks. Then he knew
his wife was eaten up.

He went out again hunting and when he came back he saw little wee
tracks all around by the ashes of his fire, baby feet. Another time when he
came back he saw a little wee baby standing under the bunk, and he tried to
catch him but he couldn't. He grabbed again, and spoiled him as soon as he
touched him, and tamed him down. Then he saw another one and grabbed him
too. He tried to feed them with what he ate, meat stuff, but they would only eat
broth. They could talk like big people, though.

This man didn't know what to do with the babies. Next time he was
going hunting, they said, "You must make us each a bow and arrow so we can
hunt with you." He thought they just wanted to play with him inside the
wigwam, so he made them some little bows and arrows. When he came home
he found them standing on the edge of the hearth, and saw little sticks stuck in
the ground with snakes' hearts on them. "Where did you get those hearts?" he
asked them.

"Oh, we went down to the big pond and found the snakes there and killed
them and took their hearts out."

He said, "You must never go down to the big pond or you'll get killed."

And they said, "Oh, no, nothing can kill us." That made him a little

scared.

191

The next time he came back he found them playing around a big heart
on the ground by the edge of the ashes. He asked them where they got the
heart. "Oh, we went way down a piece, looking for the one who killed our
mother, and we went and got his heart."

"How did you do that?"

"When we went looking for him, a Windigo must have smelled us. He
caught us and took us to the big wigwam where all the Windigoes lived. They
threw us in a kettle to make soup out of us, and then went to sleep, waiting for
it to get done. When the water was nearly boiling we took our bows and arrows
and shot all the Windigoes. Every time we shot a Windigo the arrow bounced
back from his body, and we shot it at another. When they were all dead we cut
out the heart of the one that killed our mother and brought it back."

The man was kind of scared, looking at that big heart and the little
babies, and thinking how they ate snakes and blood, like weasels. So he asked
some other Indians to get rid of them or to kill them. But the babies knew what
their father was doing, and they shot through the chimney hole in the top of
the wigwam when the Indians started coming, and they killed them all, except
one to tell the story, I guess. Every time they shot the arrow, it came back.

Then they asked their dad why he told the other Indians to come and kill
his little boys. He said, "You're getting too dangerous."

They said, "Well, you'll have to go now. Our mother was killed but we're
not going ever to die." (All the guts that the Windigo cleaned out of that
woman and threw under the bunk had the babies.) "You're going to hide in
the brush, and just come out once in a while looking for something to eat, and
then you'll hide again." So their dad flies out like a bluejay. And it's true, you
don't hardly ever see a bluejay flying in the open; they're always flitting

around the brush.

192

Before he flew out, the little boys told their father, "You'll hear from us
one of these days. We'll be up in the sky, and when you see the lightning
streaks, that'll be us." Then the little boys turned around, and they had nice
little blue wings on, and they flew up into the sky. The Thunders that you
hear are those two little fellows. You never hear of Thunders striking Indians,
but they strike white people's homes. There was a man working at the mill in
Garden, and he swore at the Thunders, and they struck him. He was just like a
rag, no bones at all. Old man Feathers told me that.

I get scared when it thunders. Best thing to do is burn tobacco and say,
"That's for you, granddad." They'll protect you. My grandmother told me
never to mention the Thunders or say any sassy word at them when you hear
them.

I've seen pictures of those little Cupids, with their little bows and arrows
and little wings. I bought one. Grandma wouldn't tell me a lie—I don't think-
but that's how I know her story is true. How did white folks know about the

Cupids to make those pictures?8

((1)

Once a number of Indians were walking along the shore of a lake with a
girl who was very poor and sick. The others said, 'She can't stand the journey,
let us give her to the water-spirit. So the girl undressed herself and sat close
by the shore. Then the man who had the power to call the water-spirit called

him. When the water-spirit came, all that one could see was water flying in all

 

8A story told to R. Dorson by Mrs. Joseph Feathers. Note, From Bloodstoppgrs

and Bemalkers: Folk jljraditions of the Uppe; Peninsula, (pp. 54-56) by R. M.
Dorson, 1952, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Copyright 1952 by
Harvard University Press. Reprinted with permission.

193

directions. Soon the girl disappeared. Then the wahima took his knife and
sliced down the horn of the water-spirit. The knife would only go as far as the
water-spirit would allow. Then it would turn and you could cut off the portion
of the horn granted. You could make whatever you wanted of it--copper
implements, medicines, etc.-the scales of the water-spirit could also be
scratched off and medicine made of them.

Finally, when the water-spirit returned to the water the girl was seen
lying unconscious. With the scales of the water-spirit she was restored to

consciousness and to health.9

(e)

Legend of the Motchi Manitou

The Indians of L'Arbre Croche were firm believers in manitous, or
spirits. All the good things they attributed to the Gitchi Manitou (Great Spirit);
and the bad things to the Motchi Manitous (Bad Spirits), there being very
many of the latter.

The Motchi Manitou, most dreaded in these parts, inhabited the waters of
little Traverse Bay, and many frightful stories have been related regarding
this monster. Often when great storms raged at sea, sacrifices were made to
him to appease his anger, for the Indians imagined he was the one that caused

the disturbance. A dog would be killed and thrown into the lake, with the

 

9A3 told to Paul Radin in the summer of 1926 by J. Cloud, in Elk Rapids, MI; from
unpublished notes, American Philosophical Society.

194

words, 'Here is something for you, O Manitou; now be still and stop troubling
the water.‘

According to the legend, this manitou was once a human being like all
the other inhabitants of the village; in fact, he was the son of a great hunter
named Ma-gee-we-non, and was his father's joy and pride. With the greatest
delight the old warrior spent most of his time teaching his boy to shoot the
arrow and throw the spear, and making him acquainted with all the
knowledge necessary for an Indian brave's education. But in spite of all that
was done to make the young man a great chief, he early evinced traits of a
diabolical character. Although an adept in the use of his weapons, it became
apparent that he was possessed of an evil spirit. He grew to large and
ungainly proportions and became in truth a human monstrosity. He delighted
in torturing people and did all sorts of things to annoy those about him. One
day, highly incensed over his ill luck at fishing, he sought the feeding
grounds of a dreaded sea-serpent, which he captured and turned loose in the
village, where the enraged reptile killed many of the inhabitants and
committed all sorts of depredations.

At this period the tribe was ruled over by a remarkable Chieftain who
was said to possess supernatural powers. The Great Spirit had blessed him with
an extremely beautiful daughter whose hand was sought by all the young
braves of the surrounding country, among whom was Neoma, considered the
best warrior and hunter in the tribe.

Wa-wass-ko—na (flower), the chief's daughter, returned the young
man's affections, but Neoma had a rival in the powerful Motchi Manitou, and
strange to say, the chief wished his daughter to marry the latter, hoping
thereby to gain more power and influence and become greater than any of his

predecessors.

195

Neoma asked the chief for his daughter's hand, but was, of course,
rejected, and Wa-wass-ko-na was imprisoned in a separate wigwam, with
guards placed at the entrance, so that the lovers might not elope. But 'love
laughs at locksmiths,' and one dark night Neoma stole into his sweetheart's
prison, first drugging the guards with a potion he had obtained from an old
woman who resided in the outskirts of the village. Wa-wass-ko-na was only too
glad to regain her freedom and join her faithful lover. They hastily embarked
in a canoe which Neoma had provided for the occasion, and fled to an island
far out in Lake Michigan (Manitou Island), where they landed, pitched their
tent, and for a time lived happily together.

But Motchi Manitou soon learned their whereabouts, and one day when
Neoma was away in quest of game, hied himself to his wigwam and abducted
his bride, whom he carried to his abode-a desolate cave near the shore-
where he imprisoned her.

Neoma returned home, and missing his wife, spent many weary hours of
anguish, but at last surmised the cause of her disappearance. He immediately
started in pursuit of Motchi Manitou, but arrived at the latter's rendezvous too
late to rescue Wa-wass-ko-na and was only met by the jeers and mocking
laughter of the Motchi Manitou. With a heavy heart he lingered about the
prison, contriving many plans by which he might rescue his wife, but failed
in all his attempts.

Meanwhile Wa-wass-ko-na became heart-broken and despondent and
shed many tears. She rapidly failed in health until she was only a mere
skeleton of her former self, and in a short time she crossed 'the dark river of
death.‘

Neoma was overwhelmed with grief, and disheartened, and he climbed

'the crooked tree,‘ which was not far from the Motchi Manitou's cave, and with

196

a weird, plaintive death-song threw himself to the beach, striking in the water
of lake Michigan, which caught up the sad air and have ever murmured the
lament of the departed warrior.

At last the great Chieftain, Neoma's father, passed away and the people
saw that in order to insure their safety, they must destroy the Motchi Manitou.
A great council was held and it was decided that all the warriors should turn
out en masse, to get him, dead or alive. But to no avail. He seemed to possess a
charmed life. He never could be seen, but each morning the inhabitants of
L'Arbre Croche would awaken to find new mischief or depredations.

Finally, after many days of searching, he was discovered, nestled among
the sand dunes on the shore, fast asleep. Without losing any time the bravest
of the people crept up cautiously and deftly bound him with basswood bark, so
that when he awoke he was helpless. His captors then placed him in a canoe
and, taking him far out into the bay, tied huge stones to his neck and threw
him overboard. As he reached the water, by his exertions to get loose, he
caused such a sea that the canoe was upset and all its occupants drowned.

Even to the present day, when great tempests rage on lake Michigan,

the older Indians say: 'It's Motchi Manitou trying to get out of the water.‘10

 

101393;- From e ooked ee: dia ends f No t ern Michi an (pp.
79-82), by J. C. Wright, 1917, Harbor Springs, Ml: Matthew A. Erwin, Publisher.

197

(f)

Gaw-be-naw, the First Man

The first among the Indians of L'Arbre Croche in story and tradition
was Gaw-be-naw. He was said to be the first man created by the Gitchi Manitou
(Great Spirit). He ruled over the land and the sea; named all the animals;
taught the people how to plant and make gardens; how to hunt and fish; how to
build wigwarns and canoes; how to count; how to make clothing from the skins
of wild animals; and many, many other things. He was a prophet, philosopher,
seer and natural born leader.

The snowshoe, bow and arrow, stone tomahawk, pe-no-gawn, 'warm
winter house,‘ and all such devices and inventions were said to have been
introduced by Gaw-be-naw. Volumes could be written of his genius and
prowess. No task was too difficult for him to accomplish, no obstacle too great
for this wonderful man to overcome. He was greatly beloved by the Great
Spirit, who favored him in all things.

Gaw-be-naw lived for a great many years--how long nobody knows.
During the early part of his reign all the people were happy; there were no
wars, no dissensions--no trouble of any kind. As he grew old and approached
the end of his career, however, a great drouth and famine spread over the
earth. This was sent as a punishment to Gaw-be-naw, who foolishly thinking
of himself all powerful in his advanced years, tried to make the crops grow
without consulting the Great Spirit. In vain Gaw-be-naw fasted and prayed for
rain, so that the people would not die of starvation. No rain came, and at last
Gaw-be-naw said he would journey to the realm of the Great Spirit and

intercede for the people in person.

198

He traveled many, many days, and at last came to the dwelling place of
the Ruler of Creation, who said: 'Gaw-be-naw, my child, you have been very
disobedient. I have made you ruler over the land and sea; but I alone have
power over the sun and moon, to make the crops grow and the trees to bear
fruit. But though you have displeased me I will have compassion on my
people. Hereafter Ah-nim-o—kee will sit at my side and when rain is needed he
will beat upon his drum. When he pounds with his drumstick, thunder will
roll over the earth; when he opens his eyes, lightning will flash; and the
people will rejoice, for it will be a sign that I will send water to moisten the
ground so that grain will grow in abundance and famine will no longer occur.‘

So, away past the rivers and mountains, far, far beyond the seas--much
farther than man has since traveled, sits an old warrior with his back toward
the earth, Ah-nin-o-kee, the Thunderer, who at a signal from the Great Spirit
beats upon his drum and flashes his eyes, and thus brings the rain to revive

and nourish vegetation.11

(g)

This is a story related about Wapeka, a Woodland Potawatomi (The
Woodland Potawatomi lived in the neighborhood of Milwaukee and northward
in Wisconsin.):

A young boy fasted for six days, when a special thunderbird of the "kind
who goes alone ahead of the others" saw him and had pity on him. "If I give

him my sacred staff (a crooked stick, shorter, but otherwise not unlike a Plains

 

llflgte. From ok d Tree: ndia ds of Northern ichi an (pp.
26-28), by J. C. Wright, 1917, Harbor Springs, MI: Matthew A. Erwin, Publisher.

199

officer's standard in shape, carried by war leaders among the Potawatomi) he
may sacrifice tobacco in my behalf. Besides, his prayers to me to ward off
misfortune would be granted."

So the bird chose to show his staff to the dreamer in his sleep,
promising to add to it the gift of old, old, age, the power of curing himself and
his family of all afflictions, and that when he was older he should go to war
and lead a band of warriors without 1033. He was instructed to sacrifice tobacco
and food to the staff from time to time. He was ordered not to throw it in the
fire for the fire alone would benefit. It must be laid on the ground outside the

lodge.12

(h)

This is a story connected with a thunder staff obtained with a bow and
arrows from the Potawatomi:

Old Sakahnos when a young boy fasted to see if he could gain any favor
from the great powers. At length, the "day sun" took pity on the lad and
appeared to him in a dream several times. The lad continued to fast making it
twofold since he received a staff and a bow and arrows. In connection with
the sun a thunderbird assisted as it wanted to help and receive sacrifices of
tobacco in return. The thunderbird told him: "Make a crooked staff with my

head carved on it, so that everything will assist you to have power. I shall be

 

12A vision quest dream/story fromS Sonia] Life Ed Cezemonial Bundles of the

Mgno omini Indians. An thpdml pgigdl Eapgrgs of the Amenic cg Museum of
W13 (p. 49) by A. Skinner, 1913, New York: American Museum of

Natural History.

200

with you every time you grasp or carry this sacred staff. You shall be helped
out of your difficulties and I shall aid you provided you carry out the sacred
part I have shown you. Anything will be easy for you to do. When you want to
make a sacrifice in our behalf just take down the bow and arrows and carry
them outside your door and at a very short distance away the game will be
offered to you. You shall sacrifice to each at separate times. Take care of these

holy implements and never exhibit them until before a sacrifice."13

(i)

Kitci Cawano, the great south, who died aged ninety-two, in his young
boyhood when he was clean, free from impurities of all kinds, fasted till at the
end of six days a special thunderbird showed itself in human shape and invited
him to go along with it. When the dreamer's shade was taken along he saw an
old, very gray-headed homely man, wearing a strip of feathers under each
arm and down on one leg also. He then showed the dreamer this extraordinary
tiny war club and told him to make one, trimmed with deer claws in order to
make a rattling sound representing the sacred power belonging to the bird.
This was given him to use when praying for his wants and to aid in warding
off afflictions, troubles, and diseases, and to reach long life. The thunderbird
showed the dreamer some little seeds which were his tobacco. He gave him
some and told him to plant them down here on earth to raise thunder tobacco

and when it grew to narrow striped leaves to dry it for use when making his

 

13A vision quest dream/storyl fromS Social Life and Cerggmo nidl Bundles 09f the
Menomini Indians. t 0 ca r eric

W13 (p.50) by A. Skinner, 1913, Nwe wYork: American Museum of
Natural History.

201

sacrifice of game. This tobacco was to be consumed by the guests, or the
dreamer could do it alone. There were words and a song to call the power of
this bird to give what was asked of him, and as soon as the war club was shaken
with the sound of the deer hoof rattles and the sacred tobacco was consumed by
the dreamer, the thunderbird heard it and came with his promised relief. Rain

fell right off from the west.14

(1)

Eight men who were thunder beings, appeared to a sacred dreamer.
They were led by a chief dressed in dark blue or black who approached the
dreamer and gave him a little lacrosse bat, a full sized ball covered with
woodchuck skin and ornamented with bone beads and feathers, a tiny bow and
arrows, and a round stone thought to be 'thunderbolt.‘ All these articles were
painted black except the last, which was plain. The thunderer gave them to
the dreamer with these words.

'Grandson, I give these to you. Whenever you go to war, carry them
with you and you will never be hurt.‘

And so it turned out, for the original owner went through the Black
Hawk war of 1832 and returned without scathe. Just before he set out he had
the lacrosse game played to delight his patrons. Every year it was his custom
to observe the spring and fall feasts in honor of the thunderers. At these

feasts a whole deer or bear was prepared and eaten before the open bundle. At

 

14A vision quest dream/story fromS Sogldl lh'fe edg Ceremonial Bundles of the

Mamiladians Wei
Natural his tgflll (p 50) by A. Skinner, 1913, New York: American Museum of

Natural History.

202

this time the following song was used repeatedly: 'I know you will be heard

roaring, you thunderers!‘ls

00

Now the cause of the great flood was this: The god of the deep was
exceedingly jealous about Ne-naw-bo-zhoo's hunting dog (the great black
wolf) and therefore, he killed it and made a feast with it and invited many
guests, which were represented as sea-serpents, water-tigers, and every kind
of monster of the deep, and they had a great feast. When Ne-naw-bo—zhoo
found out what had become of his hunting dog, he was furiously enraged, and
determined to kill this god of the deep.

There was a certain place where he was accustomed to come on the
shore with his hosts, particularly on very fine days, to sun themselves and
enjoy the pleasure of being on a dry land. Ne-naw-bo-zhoo knew this lovely
spot very well. So right away he strung his bow and trimmed his arrows
nicely, and went there to watch, transforming himself into a black stump,
near where these water gods usually lay down to enjoy themselves. And
therefore, one very find day the sea-serpents and water-tigers were very
anxious to come on shore as usual and asked their master to accompany them,
but he replied: "I fear the great Ne-naw-bo—zhoo might be lurking about

there, and he will kill me because I have killed and eaten up his black wolf."

 

lsA Menomini story about a sacred lacrosse and war charm for a war bundle
from Social life mid Ceremonial Bundles of the Menom ini Indians.

Anthpomlogigal Papem of tha Ameg'can Musanm pf Natugal Histog H (p. 125)
by A. Skinner, 1913, New York: American Museum of Natural History.

203

But he at last told them to go on shore and examine the place and report if it
was all clear; but they found nothing unusual about the place except the old
black stump, which they never before observed to be there. Therefore, they
went back to their master and reported that nothing was there to be afraid of
except the old black stump which they never noticed before. "Go again," said
their master "and closely examine the stump; peradventure, it was he
transfigured into the shape of the stump." So again they came ashore and one
of the water-tigers climbed upon it, inserting his long, sharp claws as he went
up, but he saw nothing strange. So, also the sea-serpent went up to it and
coiled himself around the stump so tight that Ne-naw-bo-zhoo nearly screamed
with pain. At last the serpent uncoiled himself and they went back to their
master and reported to him that it was nothing but an old stump. So the god of
the sea concluded to come ashore with all his hosts, slowly and cautiously
looking in every direction as he was still afraid that Ne-naw-bo-zhoo might be
lurking around there and watching. Soon they were dozing upon the hot sand
of the beach, then Ne-naw-bo-zhoo unmasked himself and fixed one of his best
arrows into his bow and shot the god of the deep right through the heart.
Then all the host started to pursue the slayer of their master. Ne-naw—boo-
zhoo fled for his life; but he was pursued by the host with mountains of water.
He ran all over the earth, still pursued with the mountains of water. So when
he could not find any more dry land to run to, he commanded a great canoe to
be formed in which he and the animals who were fleeing before the water,
were saved. After they floated, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo wondered very much how
deep was the water. Therefore, he ordered one of the beavers to go down to the
bottom of the deep and bring up some earth if he could, as evidence that he did
go to the bottom. 80 the beaver obeyed, and he went down, but the water was so

deep the beaver died before he reached the bottom, and therefore, he came up

204

floating as a dead beaver. Ne—naw-bo-zhoo drew him up into his canoe and
resuscitated the beaver by blowing into his nostrils.

So he waited a little while longer, and afterwards he ordered the
muskrat to go down; but the muskrat did not like the idea, for he had seen the
beaver coming up lifeless. So he had to flatter him a little in order to induce
him to go down, by telling him, "Now, muskrat, I know that thou art one of the
best divers of all the animal creation; will you please go down and ascertain
the depth of the water, and bring up some earth in your little paws, if you can,
with which I shall try to make another world? Now go my little brother,"-the
legend says that he called all animal creation his little brothers,-"for we
cannot always live on the waters." At last the muskrat obeyed. He went down,
and descended clear to the bottom of the water, and grabbed the earth and
returned. But the water was yet so deep that before he reached the surface of
the water, he expired.

As Ne-naw-bo-zhoo drew him up into his great canoe to resuscitate him,
he observed the muskrat still grasping something in his little paws, and
behold, it was a piece of earth. Then Ne-naw-bo-zhoo knew that the muskrat
went clear to the bottom of the deep. He took this piece of earth and fixed it
into a small parcel; which he fastened to the neck of the raven which was with
him. Now, with this parcel, Ne-naw-bo-zhoo told the raven to fly to and fro
over the face of the waters; then the waters began to recede very fast, and

soon the earth came back to its natural shape, just as it was before.16

 

l6From llistog of the Ottawa and Chippewa lndians of Michigan (pp. 75-77) by
A. J. Blackbird, 1887, Ypsilanti, MI: Yspilantian Job Printing House, reprinted
by little Traverse Regional Historical Society, Inc.

205

(1)

Another thunder tradition says:--"That a party of Indians were once
travelling on an extensive plain, when they came upon two young thunders
lying in their nest in their downy feathers, the old thunders being absent at
the time. Some of the party took their arrows, and with the point touched the
eyes of the young thunders. The moment they did so their arrows were
shivered to pieces, as if a young thunder arrow had struck them. One of the
party, more wise than his companions, entreated them not to meddle with
them, warning them that if they did they would pay dearly for their folly. The
foolish young men would not listen, but continued to teaze [tease] and finally
killed them. As soon as they had done this a black cloud appeared, advancing
towards them with great fury. Presently the thunder began to roar and send
forth volumes of its fiery indignation. It was too evident that the old thunders
were enraged on account of the destruction of their young--soon, with a
tremendous crash, the arrows of the mighty thunder-god fell on the foolish

men and destroyed them, but the wise and good Indian escaped unhurt.17

 

17From is o o O'ebwa I dians° wit Es ecial Reference to their
Conversion to Christianity (pp. 86-87) by P. Jones, 1861, London: A. W. Bennett.

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