A Bag Worth a Pony : The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag

Title:

Author:

Anderson, Marcia G. (Marcia Gail), 1949- author.

ISBN:

9781681340296

Personal Author:

Anderson, Marcia G. (Marcia Gail), 1949- author.

Publication Information:

Saint Paul, MN : Minnesota Historical Society Press, [2017]

Physical Description:

265 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps ; 28 cm

Contents:

A bag worth a pony -- Gashkibidaagan: an introduction -- Forms, construction, and styles -- Design influences and motifs -- Gashkibidaaganag in photographs -- Handicraft and commerce -- Reservation stories -- Bois Forte -- Fond du Lac -- Grand Portage --Leech Lake -- Mille Lacs -- Red Lake -- White Earth -- Linda Legarde Grover poem.

Abstract:

"Bandolier bags, or gashkibidaaganag---the large, heavily beaded shoulder bags made and worn by several North American Indian tribes around the Great Lakes---are prized cultural icons. Marcia G. Anderson shares the results of thirty years of study, in which she learned from the talented bead artists who keep the form alive, from historical records, and from the bags themselves. Anderson examines the history, forms, structure, and motifs of the bags, giving readers the tools to understand a bag's makeup and meaning. She also offers a tour of Minnesota's seven Ojibwe reservations, showing the beautiful beaded bags associated with each along with the personal insights of six master beadworkers."--Provided by publisher.

Language:

English

Subject Term:

Ojibwa Indians -- Material culture.

Bandolier bags.

Indian beadwork.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Call Number	Status
Searching... Downtown Branch at Slover	Trade Paperback	0118615843752	977.0049 AND	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Bandolier bags, or gashkibidaaganag--the large, heavily beaded shoulder bags made and worn by several North American Indian tribes around the Great Lakes--are prized cultural icons here and around the world. From the 1870s to the present day, Ojibwe bead artists of Minnesota have been especially well known for their lively, creative designs. Neighboring Dakota people would trade a pony for a beautiful beaded bag.

Over the years, non-Indian collectors and ethnographers, struck by the bags' cultural significance and visual appeal, bought them up. Today, there are hundreds of bags in museums around the world, but not so many in the hands of community members. In A Bag Worth a Pony, Marcia G. Anderson shares the results of thirty years of study, in which she learned from the talented bead artists who keep the form alive, from historical records, and from the bags themselves.

Anderson examines the history, forms, structure, and motifs of the bags, giving readers the tools to understand a bag's makeup and meaning. She also offers a tour of Minnesota's seven Ojibwe reservations, showing the beautiful beaded bags associated with each along with the personal insights of seven master beadworkers.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Bright red, green, and blue beads in geometric and floral patterns on shoulder bags being danced by Ojibwe men. This is what the reader first sees when opening Minnesota Historical Society curator Anderson's wonderful new book about the gashkibidaaganag (Anishinaabe beaded bags) held in the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. One can quickly see why Anderson has worked with these culturally significant pieces for over 30 years, and how her dedicated research has produced sophisticated and nuanced scholarship as well as a model for how museum collections can be fruitfully reanalyzed so readers can hear the history and continuing cultural vitality of Native peoples. As Anderson deftly demonstrates, the pieces communicate much about Ojibwe culture, how art is used on a daily basis and in special events, the historical experiences of each community, Anishinaabe-Euroamerican economic and political relations, and how the storied bags moved from makers to a museum. The book's second half contains fascinating stories from knowledgeable individuals and beadwork artists residing at 12 different Anishinaabe communities. These stories are as important as the bags, for they show that the bags are living expressions of Anishinaabe culture. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All public and academic levels/libraries. --Nancy J. Parezo, University of Arizona