The Collection

Collection Items

Catalog Number : 63497
Accession Number : 26731
Tribe : Ojibwe
Region : Warroad, MN
Material : Glass beads, cotton textile, polyester textile

This bag, which has no pocket, is fully beaded with a floral pattern against a white background. Trimmed with thick red polyester fabric, the bag has large black and blue bead dangles with salmon colored yarn tassels. It is lined with cotton calico.

Source : Donated by Mrs. Wallace B. Behnke of Milwaukee, WI. Collected by Sidney Helliwell (father of donor) in 1906.
Catalog Number : 50356
Accession Number : 14896
Tribe : Ojibwe
Region : Western Great Lakes region (Minnesota)
Material : Glass beads, velvet, cotton cloth, silk ribbon,wool yarn

This bag has beaded embroidery over a velvet base and a patterned cotton cloth-back. It exhibits a leaf design over a solid white background on both the straps and pouch. The horizontal panel has a floral design over black velvet cloth. The lower edge ends in blue and red yarn tassels.

Source : Donated by Mrs. Samuel Meyer of Milwaukee, WI. Originally collected by David Karger.
Catalog Number : 54765
Accession Number : 16202
Tribe : Potawatomi
Region : . Great Lakes Area
Material : Glass beads, brass beads, velvet cloth, cotton ribbon, wool yarn, thread

This bag is has beadwork attached to a purple velvet material. The design includes maple leaves (in blue and green), berries, and geometric patterns. The shoulder strap and bag pattern are similar; the horizontal panel is geometric. The bottom is tabbed, with yarn tassels. The majority of the bag is trimmed in red ribbon.

Source : Donated by J. Fletcher Harper. Unknown collector.
Catalog Number : 23423
Accession Number : 6140
Tribe : Potawatomi
Region : Great Lakes Area; Potawatomi, Forest County, WI
Material : Glass beads, cotton, wool, yarn, string

This bag is beaded in an almost continuous geometric design. The bag has no horizontal band, and no real pocket.

Source : Collected on expedition by Dr. S. A. Barrett in 1917, MPM curator of Anthropology 1909-1920 (Director from 1920 on).
Catalog Number : 50373
Accession Number : 14904
Tribe : Potawatomi
Region : Great Lakes region (no area specified)
Material : Glass beads, wool cloth, cotton cloth, wool yarn, cotton thread

This bag, with a small pocket, has beaded tabs and red/blue yarn tassels. The bag has a red cotton cloth trim with a yellow beaded edge. The bag exhibits geometric designs on brown wool cloth (appliqué). Bead colors present on this bag: white, blues, reds, yellow, black, and green.

Source : Donated by Mrs. Odelia Abel of the Indian Trading Post, Tomahawk, WI; originally collected by the donor
Catalog Number : 45695
Accession Number : 12727
Tribe : Potawatomi
Region : Great Lakes Region (Star Lake, Vilas County, WI).
Material : Glass beads, cotton textile, velvet, wool yarn, cotton thread

This bag is lined with cotton calico textile and piped with yellow elasticized twill tape. The shoulder strap has a wide geometric (diamond) beaded panel. The edge of the strap is black velvet. The square panel has no pocket and exhibits an x-patterned geometric design with beaded tabs along the lower edge with wool tassels. The horizontal band about the main pouch has a floral design.

Source : Donated and collected by John Thompson of Milwaukee, WI.
Catalog Number : 50354
Accession Number : 14896
Tribe : Potawatomi
Region : Western Great Lakes Area
Material : Glass beads, wool yarn, wool cloth
This bag, with a red wool cloth backing, exhibits large geometric flower beaded designs on both the straps and pouch. The horizontal panel is red wool with a stylized floral pattern. The lower edge of the bag ends in yarn and beadwork tassels.
Source : Donated by Mrs. Samuel Meyer of Milwaukee, WI; collected by David Karger.
Catalog Number : 64357
Accession Number : 27301
Tribe : Santee Dakota?
Region : Western Great Lakes Area
Material : Glass beads, cotton textile, stroud, wool yarn, cotton thread

This pocketless bag has a square loom-beaded bottom panel with tabs. The bottoms of the tabs end in pink and turquoise yarn tassels. It exhibits a white beaded otter-tail design at the top of the panel; the navy stroud portion above this design has a floral motif. The shoulder strap is loom beaded with asymmetrical designs on each half.

Source : Collected by James Howard, anthropologist and collector.
Catalog Number : 64497
Accession Number : 27301
Tribe : Sauk
Region : Great Lakes Area
Material : Glass beads, textiles, yarn

This bag contains both geometric and floral design elements. The strap is fully beaded with tassels at the bottom. The horizontal panel exhibits the floral design. The bag is trimmed with yellow piping. The strap/pouch is geometric.

Source : Donated by Mrs. Richard Herzfeld and Friends of the Museum. Collected by James Howard, collector and anthropologist, in 1961; donated to MPM 1965.
Catalog Number : 30224
Accession Number : 7287
Tribe : Sauk
Region : Oklahoma
Material : Glass beads, wool cloth, wool yarn, thread
This bag has a multi-colored geometric design against a white beaded background. The bag also features anthropomorphic and bird figure designs. The bag was loom-beaded on thread with a brown wool cloth backing and red yarn tassels along the bottom as well as where the straps meet the main pouch.
Source : Collected by A. B. Skinner, MPM Curator of Anthropology 1920-1924