Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

INNII (BUFFALO)

Date

2024

Materials

RAWHIDE, METAL, PAINT

No. Pieces

1

Length

5.6

Width

4.0

Description

BOWN INNII (BUFFALO) PIN. BLACK AND BROWN PAINT PAINTED ONTO FRONT OF PIN, SHADED TO CREATE INNII BODY, HORN, NOSE, AND EYE. LOCKING PIN BACKING GLUED ONTO BACK OF PIN. PAINT CHIPPING ALONG EDGE ON FRONT OF PIN, TAIL AND UNDERBELLY OF INNII ARE BENT, HANDLE WITH CARE. OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

ADORNMENT

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

ETHNOGRAPHIC

History

ON NOVEMBER 18, 2024, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED AOTAANAAKII (SHIELD WOMAN, CAMINA WEASEL MOCCASIN) ABOUT HER DONATION OF A T-SHIRT AND PIN. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THAT INTERVIEW. ON HOW AOTAANAAKII ACQUIRED THE INNII PIN, AOTAANAAKII EXPLAINED: “…[THE GALT] HAD A GOOD LONGSTANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH GRETA MANY BEARS (AAKAOHKSI'KITSTAKIYAAKII, MANY OFFERINGS WOMAN), AND SO [AS THE GALT] WE’VE ACTUALLY BEEN ACQUIRING [AAKAOHKSI'KITSTAKIYAAKII’S] CRAFTS FOR QUITE SOME YEARS. AND, I HAD NOTICED THAT [THE GALT GIFT STORE] WERE SELLING THESE BUFFALO PINS THAT [AAKAOHKSI'KITSTAKIYAAKII] HAD MADE, AND I HADN’T RIGHT AWAY REALIZED THAT THEY WERE ON RAWHIDE, AND I JUST THOUGHT [THE PINS] WERE BEAUTIFUL PIECES OF ART... [AOTAANAAKII BOUGHT] A PIN THAT I COULD JUST WEAR, JUST TO RAISE BUFFALO CONSCIOUSNESS; [AND] RAISE BUFFALO AWARENESS [IN] ONE OF THE LITTLE WAYS THAT I COULD…” AOTAANAAKII COMMENTED HOW SHE WORE THE PIN: “…I HAD IT ON THE STRAP OF MY BAG…” AOTAANAAKII ELABORATED ON HOW THE INNII PIN WAS INCORPORATED INTO CELEBRATING THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BUFFALO TREATY SIGNING: “…AS I WENT ALONG WITH THE EXHIBIT [BUFFALO TREATY: KEYSTONE TO WELLNESS] (ACTUALLY, WHEN WE COMPLETED THE EXHIBIT), I KINDA CONTINUED MY RELATIONSHIP WITH IBRI (INTERNATIONAL BUFFALO RELATIONS INSTITUTE), AND THEY WERE GEARING UP FOR A BIG 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY GATHERING IN SEPTEMBER OF 2024, AND SO [IBRI] HAD OFFERED ME A TEMPORARY CONTRACT TO COME ON TO THE IBRI TEAM AND ASSIST THEM WITH GETTING READY FOR THAT [ANNIVERSARY] GATHERING. I BELIEVE [THE EVENT] WAS IN MID-MAY. I ACTUALLY BECAME AN IBRI EMPLOYEE [EVENTUALLY] AND, AS WE WERE PLANNING THE [ANNIVERSARY] EVENT, WE WERE PLANNING LIKE GIFTS AND THINGS, GIVEAWAYS. RIGHT AWAY I THOUGHT OF GRETA’S LITTLE PINS, AND I HAD TOLD THEM, ‘LET’S CONTRACT GRETA TO MAKE A HUNDRED OF THESE PINS FOR US, AND THOSE ARE GIFTS THAT WE CAN GIVE AWAY TO THE DIGNITARIES, [AND] THE SIGNATORIES TO THE TREATY.’ SO, WE ENDED UP DOING THAT. GRETA MADE A HUNDRED OF THESE PINS FOR US…” ON HOW THESE INNII PINS WERE SHARED AT THE 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVENT, AOTAANAAKII STATED: “…THESE PINS WENT OUT IN [GIFT] BAGS TO SIGNATORIES ALL ACROSS NORTH AMERICA…” AOTAANAAKII ELABORATED ON THIS PROCESS OF RE-SIGNING THE BUFFALO TREATY: “…FOR THE DIGNITARIES WHO CAME AND SIGNED THE BUFFALO TREATY, THEY WOULD BE INTRODUCED. [THE DIGNITARIES] MIGHT SAY LIKE A STATEMENT OF SOME SORT, OR THEIR PLEDGE TO THE TREATY. AND THEN THEY WOULD WALK UP TO THE TABLE. THEY SIGN THE TREATY; THEY DO THEIR PHOTO-OP; AND THEN, [IBRI] HAD TABLES ALONG THE SIDE WITH, GIFT GIVE-AWAY STUFF [INCLUDING THIS PIN]…” ON THE BUFFALO TREATY, AOTAANAAKII REFLECTED: “…I DON’T KNOW IF PEOPLE FULLY UNDERSTAND, OR APPRECIATE THE POWER OF THE BUFFALO TREATY, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE NATIONS THAT WERE ACTUALLY HISTORICALLY ENEMIES, AND HAVE LONG HISTORIES OF FIGHTING AND WARFARE, AND YET, ALL OF THAT IS BEING PUSHED ASIDE FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE BUFFALO… IT WAS AFTER THE FACT THAT SOMEBODY KIND OF POINTED IT OUT TO ME, ‘DO YOU REALIZE YOU HAD, LIKE, A TRADITIONAL ENEMY COME INTO YOUR TERRITORY, UNDER PEACE, SO THAT THEY CAN HONOR THE SIGNING OF THIS BUFFALO TREATY?’ SO, I WAS, LIKE, ‘OH, OH THAT’S PRETTY COOL PRETTY POWERFUL’.” AOTAANAAKII NOTED WHY SHE CHOSE TO DONATE THIS PIN: “…WE DID HAVE A FEW EXTRAS [AFTER THE EVENT], SO I GOT ONE OF THOSE PINS, AND SO I DECIDED, ‘OK, THE INITIAL PIN THAT I BOUGHT IS ONE THAT I’M GOING TO DONATE.’ THESE PINS WERE MADE FOR THE IBRI EVENT, BUT THIS SPECIFIC [PIN] DIDN’T COME FROM THOSE [BATCHES]. THIS [PIN] IS ONE THAT I HAD BOUGHT MONTHS BEFORE THAT EVENT AND WAS WEARING AROUND.” ON AAKAOHKSI'KITSTAKIYAAKII’S INNII PIN AND HER RELATIONSHIP TO AAKAOHKSI'KITSTAKIYAAKII, AOTAANAAKII COMMENTED: “…IT’S ALSO INTERESTING BECAUSE IT’S MADE FROM GRETA, AND SO I HAVE A LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH GRETA ALSO. I’VE KNOWN GRETA ALL MY LIFE… I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN HER TO BE A CRAFT-MAKER. I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN HER TO BE SOMEONE WHO – I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY OTHER THAN ‘MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING’, AND I DON’T LIKE THAT, BECAUSE IT’S NEVER ‘NOTHING’, BUT SHE’S GOT A REALLY GREAT TALENT TO, YOU KNOW, WHERE SOMEBODY WOULD SEE LIKE A GROSS SCRAP HIDE, SHE TAKES THAT, AND FIXES IT UP, AND TURNS [THE SCRAP HIDE] INTO SOMETHING REALLY BEAUTIFUL, THAT THEN GOES OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY…” ON DECEMBER 6, 2024, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN SPOKE WITH AAKAOHKSI'KITSTAKIYAAKII (MANY OFFERINGS WOMAN, GRETA MANY BEARS), AND HER HUSBAND KAIYIITSAPAOMAHKA (WALKING ON TOP, RAYMOND MANY BEARS) ABOUT THE INNII (BUFFALO) PINS THAT AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII MADE. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THAT INTERVIEW. AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII EXPLAINED HOW THE PIN CAME TO BE: “…MY SON, JERIMIAH, THAT WAS HIS ARTWORK (THE BUFFALO PIN), LIKE THE WAY IT’S DESIGNED, THE SHAPE AND EVERYTHING… AT FIRST- HE DID IT IN JUST PENCIL, HE HAD ENTERED A CONTEST FOR DRAWING… THEY WANTED TO SELECT HIS DRAWING, BUT BECAUSE IT WASN’T COLORED… THAT’S WHY THEY DIDN’T SELECT IT… ANYWAY HE COLORED IT, BUT HE DIDN’T RESUBMIT IT, HE JUST KEPT [HIS DRAWING] AND GAVE IT TO ME. AND SO, WHAT I DID WAS- I LAMINATED HIS PICTURE, HIS ORIGINAL PICTURE, AND I KEPT IT… I WOULD ALWAYS STARE AT MY SON’S WORK HANGING UP ON THE WALL. AND, KEPT LOOKING AT IT AND WORKING WITH THE RAWHIDE, THINKING WELL, IT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL [THE DRAWING], AND WE ALWAYS WANT TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT, WE ALWAYS WANT TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SO, WITH MY SON’S ARTWORK, I MINIATURIZED IT TO A BUFFALO PIN…” ON THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR MAKING THE INNII PIN’S, AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII ELABORATED: “…EVER SINCE I STARTED DOING THE BUFFALO PIN, TO GET IT THAT SMALL, I HAVE TO ALWAYS DRAW IT OUT ON PAPER UNTIL I’M HAPPY WITH MY DRAWING. AND THEN, I WOULD PUT IT ONTO CARDBOARD, AND THAT WOULD BE MY PATTERN. ALL THE BUFFALO PINS THAT I DO, I WOULD SAY NO TWO ARE EXACTLY ALIKE. BECAUSE EVERY PIN THAT I DO, THEY’RE ALL INDIVIDUALLY HAND-PAINTED BY ME. AND I DID GET THE OKAY FROM MY SON, JERIMIAH… BEFORE I STARTED DOING THE BUFFALO, EVEN TO MAKE MY PATTERN, I TOLD MY SON, ‘…I’M GOING TO USE YOUR DESIGN ON YOUR BUFFALO AND I’M GOING TO MAKE SOME BUFFALO PINS OUT OF IT, ARE YOU OKAY WITH IT?’ [JERIMIAH RESPONDED] ‘MOM, WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO, I GAVE YOU THAT PICTURE- IF YOU WANNA MAKE THEM INTO PINS, GO FOR IT!’…” AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII COMMENTED: “… I’VE BEEN ASKED IF I WOULD EVER DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THE BUFFALO, PAINT IT DIFFERENT, AND I JUST SAID, ‘NO, I LOVE THAT THE WAY IT IS’.” WHEN ASKED WHAT THE HARDEST PART IS ABOUT MAKING THE PINS, AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII RESPONDED: “…I GUESS TRACING AND CUTTING, TRYING TO GET EVERYTHING PERFECT- BECAUSE IT IS REALLY SMALL AND ITS REALLY- TEDIOUS TO CUT, YOU KNOW, THOSE LITTLE DIFFERENT ANGLES AND TRYING TO GET IT PERFECT...” AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII EXPLAINED THE PROCESS FOR HANDMAKING EACH PIN FOR THE ANNIVERSARY EVENT: “…I TRACED [THE DESIGN], AND THEN I CUT [THE DESIGN] OUT, AND THEN… I PAINTED THE WHOLE [CUT-OUT] BLACK… ONCE I DO THE FIRST PAINTING, I HAVE TO LET IT SIT FOR A DAY- LET THEM SIT OVERNIGHT. AFTER I HAD PAINTED THEM ALL BLACK (I THINK I DID TWENTY-FIVE OR THIRTY)… THEN I WENT BACK TO CUTTING UP SOME MORE BUFFALO PINS. (I KINDA DID THEM IN STAGES)… BY THEN IT WAS THE NEXT DAY AND THEN I WAS ABLE TO PAINT THE BROWN ON [AND REPEAT THE PROCESS]… JUST THINKING ABOUT IT MAKES ME GO CRAZY…” ON HOW AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII FELT WHEN ASKED BY THE ANNIVERSARY EVENT ORGANIZERS TO MAKE THE INNII PINS, AAKAOHKSI’KITSTAKIYAAKII REFLECTED: “I FELT HONORED. I FELT GLAD, [AND] OVERWHELMED, BECAUSE, TO DO THAT MANY [PINS] AND IN THAT TIME FRAME…I ALWAYS HAD A [DAILY] GOAL OF- ‘OKAY, TODAY I’M GOING TO GET THIS FAR, I’M GOING TO DO THAT MANY.’ AND SO, I EVENTUALLY GOT THEM ALL DONE.” KAIYIITSAPAOMAHKA ADDED TO THE CONVERSATION: “FOR THE BUFFALO PINS THAT WHEN WE STARTED, OF COURSE THERE’S ALWAYS BEEN A STORY OF THE STORIES THAT I TALKED ABOUT… [THE BUFFALO] IT’S GIVING ITS PART OF US, AND THE IDENTITY THAT’S A PART OF US (OF COURSE THE BUFFALO’S A PART OF US). SO, ANY COMPANY OR WHATEVER IS TRYING TO TAKE RIGHTS TO IT, THEN IT’S PRETTY DIFFICULT, BECAUSE IT BELONGS TO ALL OF US… OF COURSE, [THE PIN] WAS A HOT ITEM AS SOON AS PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT THESE PINS. AND IT’S KIND OF THOSE [LIMITED EDITION PINS]… IT KIND OF GREW FROM THERE, WHERE SOME OF THESE PINS WERE SOLD TO THE JUMP, BUFFALO JUMP, AND OTHER VENDORS WHERE [OTHER VENDERS] DID ACTUALLY GET THESE PINS… YOU KNOW, IT’S GOOD THAT OTHERS ARE RECOGNIZING THE ART. IT’S NOT ONLY JUST ABOUT BUFFALO… ITS AN ART WITHIN ITSELF… YOU PRETTY WELL SEE A VARIETY WHEREVER YOU GO, NO MATTER WHICH TRIBE, YOU’LL SEE THAT RECOGNITION OF THE BUFFALO…” KAIYIITSAPAOMAHKA COMMENTED: “…IT’S NOT A STRESSFUL KIND OF ART THAT WE DO, IT’S KIND OF SOMETHING THAT WE ENJOY. WE HAVE TO ENJOY IN ORDER TO MAKE MULTIPLE SMALL CRAFTS AND STUFF. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE INNII PIN, INCLUDING DONOR SUPPLIED RESOURCES, EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE, AND TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS FOR BOTH INTERVIEWS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20240019003

Acquisition Date

2024-11

Collection

Museum

Less detail