Akwesasne Cultural Center Museum - Part 3

I was touring the Akwesasne Cultural Center Museum in Hogansburg, New York (see also previous two posts) and came to these cornhusk ironworker dolls, a tribute to the long-standing tradition of structural steel or ironwork. Over 300 Akwesasne Mohawks are members in Local 440 even today:

A water drum. I believe that different amounts of water are placed inside to add tone and pitch to the drumbeat. I own a clay water drum, made in Mexico, and I assume this worked similarly:

Ancient pottery and modern pottery:

Moccasins with porcupine quillwork:

Antler carvings of the Three Sisters: Bean Spirit, Squash Spirit and Corn Spirit:

A beaded bracelet:

Deerskin:

The Iroquois headdress was made of a wood splint frame, wrapped in leather. Each of the six nations had a distinctive headdress, adorned with silver and brass bands, cloth, beads, quahog shells and turkey, hawk or partridge feathers. Eagle feathers appeared at the top of each one and a chief's headdress also included deer antlers. I got a photo of all six nations. This was Seneca:

Mohawk:

Oneida:

Onondaga:

Cayuga:

Tuscarora:

The Akwsasne Cultural Center Museum - Part 3

I was nearing the end of my tour of the Akwesasne Mohawk Museum and enjoying it very much. The displays were well lighted and had signs explaining things for novices like me. This was a turtle shell ceremonial rattle:

Beadwork was universally practiced by Native Americans, though originally the beads were laboriously crafted of stone, bone and shell. Europeans traded glass beads for furs, and they soon replaced the handmade beads. Nevertheless, beadwork continued to be important and still is today:

Items such as matchboxes, pincushions and this 1925 picture frame were produced for sale during the 1800s and early 1900s. Today, beadwork continues as an art form:

Beaded pendants:

Needle case made of cloth and glass beads:

 

Beads were combined with porcupine quills to produce beautiful objects such as these earrings:

This box demonstrated the fine art of quillwork. Porcupine quills and birch bark were combined in the traditional manner:

Moccasins with porcupine quillwork:

Historic pottery next to modern pottery:

This was my final photo of the day. I had learned a lot and enjoyed my tour of the museum. The people there were gracious and kind, but it was time for me to continue on my way. I had another destination in mind: