Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1912

Date Range To

1915

Materials

LEATHER, BEAD, COTTON

No. Pieces

1

Length

76.2

Width

50.8

Description

PONCHO OR CAPE. THE TOP COMPLETED BEADED IN AN INTRICATE GEOMETRIC PATTERN USING MANY DIFFERENT COLOURED BEADS. LEATHER THONG FRINGES ALONG EDGES. BOTTOM HAS BEIGE COTTON LINING (BROWN WITH AGE). HOLE IN THE CENTRE WITH BLACK CLOTH LINING. FRINGE SEPARATING FROM LEATHER BODY; DRYING. SMALL HOLE IN BEADING.

Subjects

INDIGENOUS

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

ADORNMENT

Historical Association

ETHNOGRAPHIC

History

ACQUIRED FROM JOE HEALY A BLOOD TRIBE MEMBER BY DONOR'S HUSBAND HERBERT HUSBAND ABOUT 1912. SEE P197800207000-GA FOR HISTORY. ON 26 JANUARY 2011, GALT CURATOR WENDY AITKENS PROFILED THIS CAPE (P19780209000) AS PART OF HER CURATOR PRESENTS’ FAKES AND FORGERIES PROGRAM. AITKENS WAS INFORMED BY COLLECTIONS STAFF THAT THE CAPE WAS FEATURED IN A GALT-SUBMITTED, LETHBRIDGE LIVING MAGAZINE ARTICLE (ON FILE), AUTHORED BY FORMER GALT STAFF MEMBER DR. JANAY NUGENT IN 1999. MRS. PAULINE DEMPSEY, GRANDDAUGHTER OF JOE HEALY, RECALLED IN FEBRUARY 2011 THAT SHE CONTACTED DR. NUGENT AFTER THE ARTICLE’S PUBLICATION TO INFORM HER HAT SHE QUESTIONED THE ARTICLE-CLAIMED MAKER(S) OF THE CAPE, FEELING IT WAS NOT OF BLACKFOOT DESIGN. JOE HEALY, ACCORDING TO DEMPSEY, TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY AND SHE THOUGHT IT WAS MORE LIKELY THAT THE CAPE WAS GIVEN TO HIM WHEN HE VISITED OTHER TRIBES. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON DONORS META AND HERBERT HUSBAND, AS PROVIDED BY KOOTENAI BROWN PIONEER VILLAGE CURATOR FARLEY WUTH ON 17 FEBRUARY 2011, CAN BE FOUND IN THE PERMANENT FILE. *UPDATE* IN 2014 LOUISE-MARIE CROP EARED WOLF, A MEMBER OF THE KAINAI (BLOOD TRIBE), AND A FOURTH YEAR NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES MAJOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE COMPLETED AN APPLIED STUDIES PROJECT WITH THE COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT AT THE GALT MUSEUM. SHE PHOTOGRAPHED ETHNOGRAPHIC ARTIFACTS ASSOCIATED WITH FIRST NATIONS CULTURES IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND WROTE THE FOLLOWING TEXT TO PRESENT HER FOCUSED RESEARCH ON FOUR SPECIFIC ARTIFACTS (P19641186000, P19780209000, P19780208000, AND P19790235000): “I WANT TO DISPLAY THE KAINAI WOMEN BEADED ITEMS FROM THE GALT MUSEUM COLLECTIONS FOR THEIR ARTISTIC MERIT AND NOT JUST FOR THEIR ETHNOLOGICAL VALUE. THE FOUR ARTIFACTS SELECTED ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF FOUR GENERATIONS OF BEADERS: GRANDMOTHERS, MOTHERS, SISTER, AND DAUGHTERS. THE COLOURS ARE MEANINGFUL AND THE TRADITIONAL SYMBOLS ARE USED THROUGHOUT. THE ADHERENCE TO THE TRADITION, HOWEVER, DOES NOT SUPPRESS ARTISTIC EXPRESSION; THE BEADERS USE A FAIR DEGREE OF CREATIVITY IN THEIR CHOICE OF MATERIALS, SYMBOLS AND COLORS. THE ART OF BEADING IS NOT A “DYING ART” – IT IS THE ARTISTS, ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND IT IS A “LIVING ART”. FOR GENERATIONS, KAINAI WOMEN BEADERS AND CLOTHING DESIGNERS HAVE BEEN MAKING CLOTHING FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. THE BEADED CLOTHING HONOURS THE FAMILY FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT IN A CONTINUOUS CIRCLE OF HONOURING. THE BEADED CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES SUCH AS MOCCASINS, LEGGINGS, AND BELTS, COMMUNICATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMILY AND ILLUSTRATE HOW TRADITIONS ARE PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS. THE BEADED WORK CONNECTS A BEADING ARTIST TO HER ANCESTORS. EVERY MOTIF, DESIGN, COLOUR OF SEED BEADS, STANDS FOR SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO THE ARTIST’S FAMILY, REFLECTING THE ARTIST’S SURROUNDINGS AND REINFORCING HER CULTURAL VALUES. LEARNING BY OBSERVATION, AN ARTIST PAYS RESPECT TO THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE KAINAI WOMEN BEADERS. THIS CAPE IS FULLY BEADED AND IS WORN OVER ELKS HIDE; DEER HIDE DRESS, OR CLOTH DRESS. TRADITIONAL GEOMETRIC AND NATURALISTIC MOTIFS ARE COMBINED INTO A DISTINCTIVE AND PERSONAL CREATIVE EXPRESSION. THIS TYPE OF CAPE IS WORN BY YOUNG GIRLS; THE PATTERNS AND SYMBOLS TELL STORIES THAT HONOUR HER COMMUNITY, HER FAMILY, AND HER ANCESTORS. THE END RESULT IS BOTH A CREATION OF UTILITARIAN AND AESTHETIC VALUE. THE BREAK IN PATTERN ON THE NAPE AREA IS DELIBERATE – THE UNIQUE SIGNATURE OF THE ARTIST WHO CREATED THE PIECE. THIS METHOD OF ‘AUTHENTICATING’ IS COMMONLY USED BY KAINAI BEADERS." *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS, INCLUDING A PORTRAIT OF JOE HEALY, WHO WAS PURPORTEDLY THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THIS CAPE. THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHY ON JOE HEALY WAS DEVELOPED WITH INFORMATION FROM THE GALT ARCHIVES AND 'THE AMAZING DEATH OF CALFSHIRT: THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF BLACKFOOT HISTORY' BY HUGH DEMPSEY: POTAI'NA "FLYING CHIEF' JOE HEALY (LATER CALLED WOLF MOCCASIN) WAS BORN IN 1854 ON THE MONTANA BLACKFEET RESERVATION, TO THE LEADER OF THE BLOOD TRIBE, MANY BRAIDS. MANY BRAIDS HAD BECOME FRIENDLY WITH JOHN J. HEALY, CO-OPERATOR OF THE SUN RIVER CROSSING TRADING POST WITH ALFRED B. HAMILTON. DURING A ROUTINE VISIT TO THE TRADING POST, THE BLOODS' CAMP WAS RAIDED AT NIGHT BY A BAND OF PEND D'OREILLE WARRIORS. MANY BRAIDS, HIS WIFE, BABY AND TEENAGE DAUGHTER WERE KILLED IN THE CONFLICT, WHICH WAS WITNESSED BY JOHN HEALY. BEFORE HE DIED, MANY BRAIDS ASKED JOHN HEALY TO TAKE CARE OF HIS SON, FLYING CHIEF, THE ONLY SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE FAMILY. JOHN HEALY GAVE THE EIGHT YEAR OLD BOY THE NAME JOE HEALY, AND KEPT HIM AT THE TRADING POST UNTIL THE SUMMER, WHEN HE WAS ENROLLED IN THE SCHOOL AT NEARBY FORT SHAW. THERE JOE DEVELOPED HIS KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH. IN 1869, WHILE JOE WAS IN SCHOOL, HEALY AND HAMILTON WENT NORTH AND OPENED A TRADING POST AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THE OLDMAN AND ST. MARY RIVERS; THIS POST WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS FORT WHOOP-UP AND WAS INFAMOUS FOR ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WHISKEY TRADE AND VIOLENCE IN THE AREA UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE IN 1874. THREE YEARS LATER, DUE TO A DECLINE IN THE BUFFALO POPULATIONS AND THUS THE ROBE MARKET, HEALY CLOSED THE SUN RIVER CROSSING POST AND MOVED TO FORT BENTON. JOE WAS NOW SIXTEEN AND WAS COMPELLED TO RETURN TO HIS RELATIVES AMONG THE BLOODS. HE FOLLOWED THE LAST BUFFALO HERDS WITH BULL SHIELD, AND JOINED IN RELIGIOUS AND WARFARE ACTIVITIES OF THE TRIBE. WHEN THE BLOODS SETLLED ON THEIR RESERVE IN 1881, JOE WAS THE ONLY MEMBER OF THE TRIBE WHO WAS FLUENT IN BLACKFOOT AND ENGLISH. HE WAS AN OUTSPOKEN SUPPORTER OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS AND DEFIED ATTEMPTS BY THE GOVERNMENT TO SUPRESS DANCES AND FESTIVALS. HE MARRIED WIDE NOSTRILS, THE DAUGHTER OF IRON PIPE, AND THEY HAD SIX DAUGHTERS AND FOUR SONS. JOE WORKED AS AN OFFICIAL INTERPRETER FOR THE GOVERNMENT WHEN A NEW TREATY WAS MADE IN 1883, AND AS A SCOUT FOR THE RNWMP. IN LATER YEARS HE CO-ORDINATED FIRST NATIONS' PARTICIPATION IN THE LETHBRIDGE EXHIBITION AND STAMPEDE. JOE HEALY DIED AT ST. PAUL'S MISSION ON THE BLOOD RESERVE IN 1936 AS ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED PATRIARCHS OF THE BLOOD TRIBE. 22 OCTOBER 2021 UPDATE: THE LABEL TEXT QUOTED BELOW WAS DEVELOPED WITH KAINAI ELDERS FOR A SUB-THEME WITHIN THE EXHIBIT ‘MADE IN’, TITLED ‘NIITSITAPISSKSAHKOYI’ AND INSTALLED WITHIN THE GALT IN 2021. ELDERS WHO PROVIDED MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT WITH DIRECTION ON SUBTHEME’S CONTENT INCLUDED: AAGOHH GISS STSISTIIGIIAAKII (MANY OFFERINGS WOMAN, GRETA MANY BEARS), GUUYII STAA BAAMUUGHKAA (WALKING ON TOP, RAYMOND MANY BEARS), NIINAA PIIKSII (CHIEF BIRD, MIKE BRUISED HEAD), MO’TOKAANII’PO (WALKING WITH A SCALP, HARRISON RED CROW) AND MIINIIPOKA (SACRED BERRY CHILD, PETER WEASEL MOCCASIN). THE GALT APPRECIATED THE GENEROSITY OF THE ELDERS WHO SHARED THEIR KNOWLEDGE FOR THIS EXHIBIT PROJECT. “ASOKA’SIMM (BODICE): HERBERT HUSBAND PURCHASED THIS BODICE FROM POTAI’NA (JOE HEALY) IN ABOUT 1912 IN LETHBRIDGE. ‘THE BEADING ON THIS BODICE IS DONE IN THE LANE STITCH MORE TYPICAL OF CHEYENNE OR SIOUX; BUT IT DOES SHOW MORE BLACKFOOT DESIGNS, LIKE THE MOUNTAIN DESIGN. IT COULD EVEN BE ASSINIBOINE OR GROS VENTRE—THEY ALL SHARED FAIRLY CLOSE STYLES. THIS CAN BE THROWN OVER ANY STYLE OF DRESS; THAT’S WHY IT HAS THE LITTLE TIES. IT WOULD BE FOR A MUCH YOUNGER GIRL.’ – MO’TOKAANII’PO ‘THIS IS REALLY FOR DRESS-UP DAYS; YOU WOULDN’T WEAR THIS EVERY DAY. SPECIAL OCCASIONS, CEREMONY OR SOMETHING—IT’S NOT AN EVERYDAY THING.’ – NIINAA PIIKSII ‘YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW EXPENSIVE THESE ITEMS WOULD HAVE BEEN, ESPECIALLY THESE LITTLE METAL FACETED BEADS; THOSE ARE PRETTY EXPENSIVE TO ACQUIRE. OF COURSE, THE BEADS ARE TRADE ITEMS, AND THE CANVAS THAT’S BEEN USED. BUT THIS IS HAND-DONE, THE HIDE ITSELF. THAT’S A LOT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS.’ – MO’TOKAANII’PO”

Catalogue Number

P19780209000

Acquisition Date

1978-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail