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Bear claw necklace.
Great Plains.
C. 1830.
Grizzly bear claws, otter fur, beads, cotton, pigment.
Private collection.
Photo © Max Roy.
BELOW: Buffalo Hunt, Chase, by
George Catlin. C. 1850.
Oil on zinc. Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature,
Paris. Photo © Nicolas Mathéus.
LEFT: Mandan chief.
After George Catlin. C. 1850.
Oil on wood panel.
Musée du Nouveau Monde,
La Rochelle.
Photo © Max Roy.
LEFT: Man’s shirt. Eastern Sioux.
Before 1837.
Hide, porcupine quills, pigment, beads,
tendon, wool, bovine hair.
Bernisches Historisches Museum, Bern,
inv. E/1890.410.0014.
Photo © Bernisches Historisches Museum.
RIGHT: Pipe head. Santee
Sioux. C. 1830.
Catlinite, lead inlay.
Private collection. Photo © Max Roy.
MUSEUM news
North American Indians
LA ROCHELLE—Did you know that tipis—derived from
thipi in the Lakota language—were the property of
women and that they were the ones who erected them
each time the nomadic tribes moved? Or that before
they had trade beads, the Plains Indians decorated their
clothing with dyed porcupine quills? Or that tribal councils
were elected with democratic constitutions? The real
lives of the Indians of the Plains and Prairies of the immense
area of the North American Midwest is the focus
of the exhibition Les fi ls de l’aigle. Indiens des Plaines
et des Prairies (Sons of the Eagle. Indians of the Plains
and the Prairie). It takes a didactic approach and offers a
thorough examination of cultures, customs, and mores of
these diverse peoples. This is anything but Buffalo Bill’s
Wild West, and with this show, the fourth in a series, the
Musée du Nouveau Monde in La Rochelle is continuing
with its methodical deconstruction of preconceived notions
and prejudices relating to North American Indians.
It will be on view until May 19, 2019.