North American Indians Tuesday night
3/30/15
THE BANDOLIER BAG
Bandolier bags, also incorrectly called medicine bags, are large pouches with heavy decorations of beads and a slit at the top (Bey, 2004). The beads were to represent the honors given to a worthy man in 1800s and 1900s. The bags were closely identified with the aboriginals of North America in the Great Lakes are and notably the Anishinaabe or Anishinaabeg, in plural which is an autonym, is used by the Odawa, Ojibwa and the Algonquin First Nations in Ontario, Canada and extended down to the natives in Kansas too. These communities speak similar Anishinaabe languages that are part of the Algonquian language family. They all articulate closely related Anishinaabemowin-Anishinaabe …show more content…
The idea of honor thus was found in most old men wearing them in pictures that are present today. The bags according to this description showed the importance of honor and in this society seemed to be the accolade and the outward expression for honorable men who got this by their actions and level in the society. However some pictures also show of women wearing the bags too. The bags were part of the dance costumes and were worn on the special occasions such as the treaty signing at Washington D.C. Apart from beads what did these bags consist …show more content…
The techniques of beading range from loom beading to spot stitching in which in one involves using a wooden loom to the stringing of the beads together in a thread and laying them in place. The style of spot stitching was first introduced with the use of seeds as beads. The beads design according to the Milwaukee Museum are sewn onto a different piece of clothing, which is then connected to the actual bag and its straps. The bag was of rectangular shape and the bag was also made of deep red silk ribbons while parts of it especially on the shoulder band was made of dark olive cotton cloth. The pocket of the bag was lined with striped cotton One notable thing is that the bandolier bags were made differently according to various tribes in which each tribe was able to make it according to their style. These bags are made differently from the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Menominee, Winnebago, Sauk and Creek tribes. (Bey, 2004) The bags consisted of an “X” motif which appears on the veins in the leaves. The bags also consist of a woven panel sewed onto the bag and woven tabs beneath the bag. However the designs on these tabs are differently prepared and presented than those on the bag. The bag panels are made in geometric fashion and bear with them a mirror image design which is clearly seen. The bags as noted carried with them different designs according to the