Iroquois Regalia During the 18th and 19th Centuries

     In this blog posting we will examine some of the variations in historic 18^th and 19^th century Iroquois regalia through old paintings, photographs and examples of early material culture. Since first contact with Europeans, artists have depicted the Haudenosaunee wearing diverse attire; the images below are by no means a complete visual record of those that exist but should suffice in this brief review. 

     The dictionary defines “traditional” as “existing in or as part of a tradition; long established, customary, time-honored, classic, accustomed, etc.”  Today, what is generally considered “traditional” Haudenosaunee regalia can trace its origins to early examples from the 18^th century, culminating with the work of Caroline Parker in the mid-19^th century (figures 1 & 2). 

Fig 1 – Circa 1850 daguerreotype of Caroline Parker, a Seneca from the Tonawanda Reservation in western New York.  Private collection.

Fig 2 – Circa 1850 daguerreotype of Caroline Parker, a Seneca from the Tonawanda Reservation in western New York.  Private collection.

Caroline’s outfit has had a major influence on the design of Seneca regalia and it has also been adopted by other Six Nation peoples; it came about from a synthesis of European and Haudenosaunee attire.  Deborah Holler, in writing about Caroline’s outfit,  said “The navy blue skirt, with the striking ‘celestial tree’ design in the corner and luminous beaded border, incorporates the bold color aesthetic of the Iroquois in design motifs that are traditionally representative of the feminine forces associated with Skywoman, the first woman to inhabit earth in Iroquois culture. These two images of Caroline can be seen as a formal statement of cultural identity that became a prototype for the Seneca Women’s national costume. By incorporating the highest fashion styles of the times into a bold statement of Seneca womanhood, Caroline set a standard for fashion that has had lasting appeal for Haudenosaunee artisans. The combination of Victorian and Native elements shows her inventive adaptation of the Native aesthetic to European fashion goods, and is a demonstration of Caroline’s adaptability in both worlds” (Holler 2011:15-16)

     Some of the earliest depictions we have of American Indians are allegorical representations that served to symbolize concepts or ideas. That changed in 1710 when the Mohawks sent a delegation to England on a diplomatic audience with Queen Anne (figures 3 & 4). 

Fig 3 – Some of the earliest depictions we have of the Haudenosaunee are from a group of four paintings that were done by Jan Verelst, a Dutch artist working in London. This portrait of Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row (1660 – c. 1735) was made in 1710. He was a Mohawk chief who went to London to meet with Queen Anne and her court. Except for his belt, which is decorated with dyed moosehair in false embroidery, he is completely dressed in European style clothing, with buckled shoes, lace breeches and a fashionable coat. From the collection of the Library and Public Archives of Canada.

Fig 4 – Portrait of Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow, a Mohawk said to be the grandfather of Joseph Brant of Revolutionary War fame. It was painted by Jan Verelst in 1710 when Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow visited London. His clothing is made primarily from European fabrics although he wears bullnose moccasins that were decorated with porcupine quills, a belt decorated with dyed moosehair in false embroidery and a leather pouch over that belt. He also has some great tattoos, although their meaning is unknown. From the collection of the Library and Public Archives of Canada.

 Attacks on British settlements by both the French and their Indian allies demonstrated to the Crown that they needed to maintain the loyalty of their Iroquois allies. Stephanie Pratt has written that “in the same way as Queen Anne’s ministers needed to establish an appropriate settlement with the Iroquois, so those [artists] who sought to represent them [in their work] needed to establish an appropriate mode of depiction” (Pratt  2005:36). In the case of the Mohawk chiefs illustrated in figures 3 & 4, who, except for a few personal accoutrements, were not in traditional regalia but rather are dressed in a combination of European and Native elements in a manner designed to suit European dress standards. Their handlers were provided with funds to ensure that the sachems’ had “the correct clothing to wear before Her Majesty” (Pratt 2005:163). What the artist Verelst attempted to show was how “the supposed gentlemanly and noble status of the Indian ‘Emperor’ might be constructed using portrait conventions. This nobility is entailed in their stately poses and the relationship of the figure to landscape, indicating ‘ownership’ in European terms” (Pratt 2005:52-53). We see this Europeanizing of Native people in portrait depictions throughout the 18^th century.

Fig 5 – Oil on canvass painting titled The Indian Family, by Benjamin West.  1761. From a private collection in England.

      The artist Benjamin West was in Italy in 1761 where he took on a commission to produce a painting for John Murray, a British aristocrat living in Venice (figure 5). Although scholars consider this image to be a generic piece, and the historical accuracy of his paintings is disputed by others, the cultural artifacts depicted are accurate representations of Northeast Woodland material from the period.  Some of the items depicted are illustrated in another of West’s paintings, notably General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian, in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery in Derby, United Kingdom where the male subject’s bag, the moosehair decorated knife sheath that hangs from his neck and his tomahawk, are identical.  Although the items themselves are authentic, the fact that they appear in more than one of West’s paintings suggests that they did not necessarily belong to the subjects portrayed but were rather used by West as studio props for his paintings. The decorations along the bottom of the woman’s dress in figure 5, which were likely done in a combination of ribbon work and moosehair or porcupine quill embroidery, as well as the style of her dress, are an incipient form of what would later emerge as the “traditional” Haudenosaunee woman’s outfit.  Like the mid-19^th century portraits of Caroline Parker, the woman in this image wears decorated leggings, a blue overdress, skirt, blanket and decorated moccasins in a dress style that is very similar to Caroline Parker’s outfit.  During the 18^th century, American Indians were often depicted with a blanket draped over their shoulder. This practice likely originated with the use of bear, moose or deer skins robes long before the introduction of the European blanket. The adoption of ready-made, European trade goods was a practical consideration for Native people because these items offered a perceived advantage over traditional items.

Fig 6 – Portrait of Joseph Brant, Thayendanegea, by George Romney, 1776 – the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Fig 7 – Portrait of Joseph Brant by Gilbert Stuart, 1786. From the collection of the Duke of Northumberland, London.

      Another Mohawk leader, Joseph Brant (figures 6 & 7) visited England in the late 18^th century on two separate occasions, in part for securing the promise of restitution of Mohawk lands after the American Revolution. Like the Mohawks in figures 3 & 4, he is also depicted wearing a combination of European and Native elements. In figure 6, he is adorned in a pink shirt and what were likely wool breeches, in addition to his Native raiment.  In describing the symbolism behind this portrait, Stephanie Pratt says that “Brant’s European garments combined with American Indian accoutrements… define his figure as a warrior, rather than a leading sachem. If he wanted to be seen as the latter, according to the colonial customs of the 1740s to 1760s, he would sport a tailored coat, and possibly lace collar and cuffs, in the manner of an English gentleman… [His outfit] in its combination of English and Woodlands elements, speaks of Brant’s own position between two worlds…. What distinguishes Romney’s picture is its cultural location within Mohawk attitudes to England. As with his predecessors in 1710, Brant’s figure combines items of European manufacture such as guns, hatchets, or pipes alongside the more American Indian accoutrements such as earrings and the headdresses, not as a costumier’s miscellany but as tokens of trade and good relations” (Pratt 2005:97-98). Native attire that combined trade items with Native made material made sense on the American frontier where dry goods were scarce but would have appeared exotic in England.

Fig. 8 – A book engraving from 1774. The individual depicted could be an Iroquois as he is holding a wampum belt in his extended hand and his headdress appears to be an early version of the gustaweh.  He is standing next to a large waterfall (possibly Niagara). Private collection.

     In another portrait of Brant (figure 7) he is similarly dressed in a combination of European and Native attire. Old images are also found in which individuals are wearing less formal (more traditional?) attire but the older symbolic and allegorical representations were never far from the surface (figure 8). In this book illustration the subject is holding a wampum belt in his extended hand and his plucked scalp and feather top knot of hair could be an early version of the gustaweh, an Iroquois man’s headdress. I’ve seen similar 18^th century illustrations where the subject was identified as Iroquois. He is standing next to a large waterfall (possibly Niagara). His attire could be made from animal skins or it could be a European trade textile.  Although the image may have been a fanciful depiction of an Iroquois warrior, it appears that the artist got some of the details right. He doesn't appear to be wearing leggings.  

Fig. 9 – 18^th century leggings from the St. Lawrence Valley, possibly Iroquois. They are decorated with porcupine quills and moosehair on black dyed buckskin. Collection history unknown.

Fig. 10 – 18th century Iroquois leggings on dyed deerskin, decorated with either porcupine quills or moosehair embroidery, trade beads and silk ribbon work. National Museum of the American Indian.

      Leggings have long been an integral part of traditional Iroquois regalia.  Figure 9 is a pair of late 18^th century leggings that are possibly Iroquois. Although they are simply decorated with porcupine quills and moosehair, they are an honest representation of a “traditional” clothing item from this period. In another pair of exceptionally decorated leggings we get a better look at some early “traditional” motifs (figure 10). Along the bottom of the leggings is the sinuous line representing the sky dome with the celestial tree above it and the earth tree below. The leggings are also decorated with extensive ribbon work and the square and diamond motifs appear to be done in either porcupine quills or moosehair. These geometric designs had deep cultural meaning as they are found on various items of early Iroquois material culture.

      Although not specifically part of someone’s regalia, other 18^th century items that were made by Iroquois artisans, such as burden straps (figures 11 & 12), aptly demonstrate some of the bold and colorful geometric design motifs that were prevalent during this period.  In an 18^th century watercolor of a Mohawk woman and child, she is wearing a burden strap across her forehead that is holding her cradleboard (figure 13).  She is dressed almost completely in European trade goods. The lower border of her dress appears to be decorated with silver brooches and silk ribbon appliqué.

Fig. 11 – Four burden straps from the 18^th century. (A) - Iroquois: from the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russia. (B) - Iroquois or Huron – Mid- to late 18^th c. Made of hemp, dyed moosehair false embroidery and glass beads. (C) - Collected in the St. Lawrence River valley, c 1775, and possibly Iroquois. It’s edged with white imitation wampum. (D) - Iroquois, sometime before 1775. Colors are orange, blue, black and white. Dyed Moosehair in false embroidery.

Fig. 12 – Three Iroquois burden straps . Circa 1780. Decorated with dyed moosehair in false embroidery.  Most surviving burden straps are of Iroquois origin although they were also made by the Huron and neighboring Algonkians.  Private collection.

Fig. 13 – Mohawk woman with child – 18^th century watercolor by an unknown artist.  Her attire is almost completely made from European trade material. Collection history unknown.

      Another traditional item from the 18^th century is the shoulder or bandoleer bag (figure 14). They seem to have been in vogue during that period and this tradition continued well into the 19^th century. There are a number of examples of these in 19^th century photographs (see my blog posting on these) but the example in figure 14 is earlier and is decorated with imitation or glass wampum beads. It’s another illustration of the use of geometric designs in pieces of material culture from this period.

Fig. 14 – Iroquois shoulder bag – pre 1778 – a vogue for these bags, with fronts made of imitation glass wampum beads, existed at the end of the 18^th century. The geometric designs they display resemble those on belts and ornaments made of shell wampum. From the collection of the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum, Germany.

      In 1778, Thomas Davies painted a scene near Quebec of an Indian encampment (figure 15). It is filled with details of encampment life. It also gives us a glimpse into the mode of dress that many of the inhabitants wore. Many of the adults are attired in garments that were made from European textiles and most also have a blanket draped over their shoulders. Of particular interest are two of the women in figure 15a who are wearing a peaked cap, not unlike those the Wabanaki made.

Fig. 15 – A watercolor over graphite illustration titled: A View near Point Levy Opposite Quebec with an Indian Encampment by Thomas Davies, 1788. From the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Possibly Mohawks or Hurons from Lorette.

Fig. 15a - detail view.

Fig. 15b - detail view.

In another painting by Tuscarora artist Denis Cusick that was executed in 1822, (figure 16), the seated woman is also wearing a peaked cap but this one appears to be decorated, possibly in beads. 

Fig. 16 – Tuscarora village, 1822.  Watercolor signed “Dennis Cusick, son of the chief. Fecit.”  Private collection.

I am aware of at least one of these peaked caps/hoods that has survived (figure 17) and it does have similarities to the Wabanaki examples. These caps are quite rare but their appearance in both the Quebec painting and the one from Tuscarora suggests that they were made and used by more than one Haudenosaunee community and this was no doubt a piece of “traditional” attire during this period. 

Fig. 17 – Seneca headdress – late 18^th early 19^th century.  From the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in NYC.

The standing woman’s dress in figure 18 is also similar in style to the Caroline Parker example in figures 1 & 2, and the edge of the dress could be decorated with beadwork.

Fig. 18 – Christening of the Tuscarora Asa Thompson – Watercolor attributed to Dennis Cusick, August 21, 1821. From the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC.

     As we get into the early 19^th century, we find a number of realist paintings, done by Iroquois artists that give us a glimpse into the “traditional” dress styles from the period.  In a watercolor painting by Denis Cusick (figure 18) we see examples of both men’s and women’s dress styles from the early 1820s. The bottom edge of the woman’s dress, which appears to be decorated in silk ribbon work, might also be edged in beadwork. Unlike the man who is wearing pants, she appears to be wearing leggings and both wear moccasins. The man has a frock coat that is held closed by a hand-woven sash.  In a more defined image from this period (figure 19) we can see a lot more detail in the men’s outfits. It’s hard to say from the image if their leggings are beaded or simply decorated in ribbon work but it may well be a combination of the two.

 

Fig. 19 – An undated photograph of a now-lost watercolor of four Tuscarora men wearing sashes, perhaps by Thomas Jacobs. Early-to mid-19^th century.  Titled: “The Intains [sic]. Tuscarora tribe.” The National Museum of the Anthropological Archives of the Smithsonian Institution.  

     In 1833, the young Laura M. Sheldon of Barnet, Vermont, married the Reverend Asher Wright, a preacher to the Seneca at the Buffalo Creek Reservation, and she devoted the rest of her life to the Christian well-being of the Iroquois.  Very clever in devising ways to get them to listen to her moralizing and religious instructions, she would invite them to what we might now call a “tea meeting.”

They were at the liberty to bring their needlework, which consisted in ornamenting their deerskin moccasins with porcupine quills, or their broadcloth skirts and leggings with beads, or perhaps fastening a quantity of silver brooches upon their short gowns or hats. While thus occupied, she read and explained the gospel truths in their own language, sang hymns with them, and frequently encouraged them to tell her some story of old times. The simple repast, which had really brought them there and held them through the afternoon, was then served, and they went away to think of the “good words” that had been spoken to them about the “new way” (Caswell 1892:65).

     Two Seneca ladies are depicted wearing an ample amount of silver broaches on their collars in a circa 1860 tintype (figure 20).

Fig. 20 – Circa 1860 tintype of two Seneca women in their traditional dress. Their collars are decorated with silver brooches. Private collection.

Fig. 20a - detail view

Fig. 20b - detail view

Fig. 20c - detail view

Caroline Parker’s outfit in figures 1 and 2 is also decorated in silver brooches. Although none of the brooches depicted in these images are in the shape of a heart, many 18^th and early 19^th century Iroquois brooches were.  

The heart shaped brooch has been called the national badge of the Iroquois because of its popularity among them. It is found in both single and double forms, often surmounted by a crown. The design is thought to have come to North America from Scotland, where it was a popular love token and betrothal symbol. The “Luckenbooth” brooch, as it was known in Scotland, may have been introduced by British-trained silversmiths such as Robert Cruickshank or James Hanna. Another possibility is that the Indians requested the brooch after seeing it worn by Scottish traders and settlers (Fredrickson and Gibb 1980:53).

     The earliest heart-shaped brooches were manufactured in Europe as early as the seventeenth century. “They were mostly used as luck tokens, or betrothal gifts, and the choice of the heart shape … is sufficiently obvious (Parker 1910:354).” Many were later made by Iroquois silversmiths who found their inspiration in European models, and historically, the Iroquois continued fabricating them until at least the 1860s.

Any brooch pinned to the garment of a child was regarded by the Scotch as an efficient charm against witches.…When the Iroquois silversmiths copied the Scotch patterns they left off many things that were common in the original patterns and interpreted the design as their own education, environment, or customs dictated … (Parker 1911:285).

     The use of silver brooches as charms to ward off evil spirits was an early component of many Native peoples’ traditional beliefs.

Silver was a gift from the underworld with a natural luminosity – a quality much revered by native people. They believed that the luminosity, especially in ornaments of personal adornment, constituted a power that reflected or blocked evil spirits and radiated the good powers of the sun and moon in the Upper World. Reflective silver ornaments were placed at strategic locations on the body by adults and children, the living, and the dead. Luminosity represented knowledge and wisdom and gave life to inanimate objects. Iroquois ceremonial masks have reflective surfaces at the eyes to give them life and the Naskapi word for mirror translates as “see soul metal” (Hamilton 1995:49).

     About the same time that Caroline Parker was photographed in the famous daguerreotypes of her 
(figures 1 & 2), the artist Thomas Jacobs produced a watercolor illustration of three Iroquois women in traditional attire (figure 21). 

Fig. 21 – Three Iroquois women in colorful attire – Watercolor signed “Thomas Jacobs 1852.” Jacobs is a Seneca name, and it may also be a Tuscarora name. The women’s apparel is typical of mid-19^th century formal dress, with silver brooches and beadwork decoration.

Their outfits appear to be embellished almost exclusively with silver brooches. In another watercolor from the same period (figure 22) the women’s outfits are also decorated with silver brooches and additionally their leggings and dress appear to be beaded. One of the unusual features of their outfits are the scarves/shawls they are wearing. Some early 19^th century observers mention these scarves but to the best of my knowledge, none exist in either museum or private collections.

Fig. 22 – Watercolor of four Iroquois women,  artist and date unknown. Looks to be from the mid-nineteenth century. Private collection.

     Caroline Parker’s mid-19^th century outfit in figures 1 and 2 is clearly decorated with curvilinear designs and floral motifs. None of the other outfits in the early images we have examined in this posting, as well as others I have seen, are decorated this way.  By the mid-19^th century, floral beadwork replaced the abstract and geometrical designs that had been the accepted art form among Iroquois traditionalist for centuries. Why this happened may have its origins in Euro/American reasoning. In the early nineteenth century non-Native girls were schooled to be pious, chaste, submissive, patient, and adept at “every variety of needlework,” and to “have a special affinity for flowers” (Welter 1966:165).  During the same period, the Haudenosaunee incorporated symbolic and representational floral imagery in their work and this development came about rather suddenly. Although scholars have demonstrated eloquently that flowers were related to Victorian ideals of womanhood (Phillips 1998), the sudden emergence of this type of ornamentation is a fundamental question that has yet to be fully explained.

     Ted Brasser also points out that there is only scant evidence that representational floral motifs, in Iroquois decorative arts, were in use prior to the Revolutionary War.

Aboriginal decorative designs were originally abstract and geometrical, but a curvilinear art style became popular in the 1750s. This new art style was adopted by all native peoples around French Quebec, suggesting that it was inspired by some form of French art (Brasser 2009:71).

     Others have argued that the complex foliate designs arrived in North America with the French missionaries and fur traders and that they originate in European decorative arts, introduced, in the French convents, by the Ursuline nuns to their Indian students.  The course of instruction that was taught to young women in Europe and America that Welter described above was no doubt adopted in the French convents as part of the curriculum for their Indian students. These decorative ideas were subsequently dispersed across the region as their Native students returned to their scattered homes through the northeast (Barbeau 1930).  Perhaps, as a partial concession to ministerial educational programs, some Indian artists modified their traditional iconography and adopted the floral imagery. The inspiration may have been European floral designs, but Native aesthetics and cultural meaning were incorporated into the final works of art. Ruth Phillips has suggested that “the Western and Victorian association of flowers with ideal ‘feminine’ qualities of fragility, beauty, and godliness converged with traditional Haudenosaunee associations of plants and the crops cultivated by women with the sustenance of human life to create a shared visual artistic language” (Phillips 1998).

    Flowers and plants did have a place in Iroquois ceremonial life, although not necessarily in the forms depicted on clothing.

The fact that floral designs were adopted for ceremonial clothing indicates that there had to be more to their use than mere imitation and commercial motives. They had become an accepted part of the art style, and a source of group identity (Harding 1994:26).

     In summary, many believed that the shimmering patterns, fashioned by the beads, attracted the spirits that inhabited the woodlands of the Northeast. Richly decorated clothing was, after all, intended to please benevolent spirits and to protect the wearer against harm from malevolent ones. Clothing styles and fashion accessories change over time; this is true in most cultures. The reasons for the change are varied and sometimes complex.  Jennifer Neptune, a contemporary Penobscot artist, aptly points out that the floral motifs that appear in Northeast Woodland beadwork were meant to convey a message about the individual or group identity of those who created them.

I see medicine plants in the designs, and it’s obvious to me that people were beading designs of plants that were highly valued to themselves, their families, and their tribe. When I look at the floral designs I see plants that ease childbirth, break fevers, soothe coughs and colds, take away pain, heal cuts, burns, and bruises, and maintain general health.… A hundred years ago plants were the main source of medicine for Natives as well as non-Natives. With the knowledge and importance of these plants in our culture beadworkers needed to look no further than their own backyards for their own floral designs. A hundred years later these same plants are still in our backyards, are still being used for healing, and are still being used to inspire our beadwork designs (Faulkner, Prince & Neptune 1998:41).

If you have an interest in Northeast Woodland beadwork you might find my book of interest. Titled: A Cherished Curiosity: TheSouvenir Beaded Bag in Historic Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Art by GerryBiron. Published in 2012. This is a brand new, hard cover book with dust jacket. 184 pages and profusely illustrated. 8.5 x 11 inches. ISBN 978-0-9785414-1-5.

Since the early nineteenth century, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) beaded bags have been admired and cherished by travelers to Niagara Falls and other tourist destinations for their aesthetic beauty, detailed artistry, and the creative spirit of their makers.  A long neglected and misunderstood area of American Indian artistry, "souvenir" art as it's come to be called, played a crucial role in the subsistence of many Indian families during the nineteenth century. This lavishly illustrated history examines these bags – the most extensively produced dress accessory made by the Haudenosaunee – along with the historical development of beadworking both as an art form and as a subsistence practice for Native women.

In this book, the beadwork is considered in the context of art, fashion, and the tourist economy of the nineteenth century. Illustrated with over one hundred and fifty of the most important – and exquisite – examples of these bags, along with a unique collection of historical photographs of the bags in their original context, this book provides essential reading for collectors and researchers of this little understood area of American Indian art.

REFERENCES CITED

Barbeau, C. Marius

1930    “The Origin of Floral and Other Designs Among the Canadian and Neighboring Indians.” Proceedings of the Twenty-third International Congress of Americanists, held at New York, September 17 – 22, 1928. Nendeln/Leichenstein. (Krans reprint, NY 1968).

Brasser, Ted J.

2009    Native American Clothing – An Illustrated History. Firefly Books, Ltd. Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.

Caswell, Harriet S.

1892    Our Life Among the Iroquois Indians. Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society, Boston and Chicago.

Faulkner, Gretchen Fearon, Prince, Nancy & Neptune, Jennifer Sapiel

1998    “Beautifully Beaded: Northeastern Native American Beadwork” in American Indian Art Magazine, Volume 24, Number 1, Winter edition.

Fredrickson, N. Jaye and Gibb, Sandra

1980    The Covenant Chain – Indian Ceremonial and Trade Silver. A catalog to a travelling exhibition of the National Museum of Man. Published by the National Museum of Canada / Ottawa.

Hamilton, Martha Wilson

1995    Silver in the Fur Trade 1689–1820.   Published by the author. Privately printed.

Harding, Deborah

1994    Bagging the Tourist Market: A Descriptive and Statistical Study of 19th Century Iroquois Beaded Bags. Unpublished Masters Thesis. Anthropology Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Holler, Deborah R.

2011    ‘The Remarkable Caroline G. Parker Mountpleasant, Seneca Wolf Clan.”  Western New York Heritage, Volume 14, Number 1, Spring.

Parker, Arthur C.

1910    “The Origin of Iroquois Silversmithing” in American Anthropologist, New Series, Vo. 12, No. 3, July-September.

1911    “Additional Notes on Iroquois Silversmithing” in American Anthropologist, New Series, Volume 13.

Phillips, Ruth

1998    Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700 – 1900. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London: McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal and Kingston.

Pratt, Stephanie

2005    American Indians in British Art, 1700-1840. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.

Welter, Barbara

1966    “The Cult of True Womanhood 1820–1860.” American Quarterly 18(2), pt.I:151–174.

Mohawks, Abenakis and the Indian Encampments at Saratoga Springs & Lake George, NY

     Saratoga Springs, like Niagara Falls, was a tourist hub during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and it was also the premier spa/resort area in the northeast. The interest in the purported therapeutic value of the mineral spring waters of Saratoga dates back several centuries. Tradition says that American Indians were visiting High Rock Spring (figure 1) before the arrival of Europeans to gain strength from the "Medicine Spring of the Great Spirit." It’s unclear who the first non-Natives were to visit there, however, Sir William Johnson, the colonial era Indian Superintendent, who was wounded at the Battle of Lake George, was carried there by a group of Mohawks in 1771. After a stay of several days, his health improved so that he was able to walk during a portion of the return trip. Due to Sir William's distinguished stature, the reputation of the spring grew quickly.

Figure 1 – This is one of many postcard versions of this painting depicting an Indian family at High Rock Spring in Saratoga, NY. Postmarked 1907. 

     Early settlers built an inn at High Rock spring and covered it with an enclosure (figure 2). With the advent of the railroad in 1831, Saratoga quickly developed into a tourist mecca (figure 3).

Figure 2 – One panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of the enclosure over High Rock Spring. Photographer: C.S. Sterry of Saratoga Spring, NY.

Figure 3 – Grounds of the Union Hotel, Opera House and Bath Houses, Saratoga Springs, NY, 1868.

 Despite the hardships of travel, respite from cities ravaged by epidemics such as cholera, influenza and typhoid, was considered healthful and beneficial. Most cities lacked modern hygiene/sanitation practices; many were filthy and unhealthy places to live, so there was a motive to travel. Resort areas such as Saratoga Springs and Lake George, with their scenic beauty, clean air, and the reputed health benefits of the mineral spring baths, became favorite destinations for the well-to-do. Saratoga, in particular, quickly turned into a bustling social hub, and as early as 1803, had a hotel catering to those seeking refuge from oppressive metropolitan centers (figure 4). The mineral springs of Saratoga were sometimes outfitted with elaborate stone-works — including artificial pools, retaining walls, colonnades and roofs — sometimes in the form of fanciful "Greek temples", gazebos or pagodas. Others were entirely enclosed within spring houses (figure 5).

Figure 4 – An early French print (1829) of the burgeoning village of Saratoga Springs, NY.

 

Figure 5 – An illustration from an August, 1873 edition of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. The caption reads: New York – The Hathorn Spring at Saratoga – Guests from the different Hotels “Taking the Waters” in the early morning. 

      The Saratoga Springs Visitor Center website explains how the area offered other diversions to visitors as well. “Hot air balloon ascensions, hops, balls, Indian encampments, and afternoon carriage promenades down Broadway where people and horses were adorned in the latest finery. The wide porches on the huge hotels were also part of the social scene, a place for the influential to meet and mingle (figures 6 and 7). Many a business deal was sealed during an afternoon meeting there. Excursions to Saratoga Lake were popular; lakeside strolls, steamboat rides, or regattas were often followed by fine dining at a lake house restaurant overlooking the water. Legend has it that during one such feast at Moon’s Lake House, the potato chip was created in 1853.”

Figure 6 – 1834 print illustrating the large porch on the plaza of Congress Hall in Saratoga Springs. Congress Hall was a large resort hotel, which brought Saratoga Springs international fame as a health spa and gambling site. 

Figure 7 – On panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of an unidentified hotel in Saratoga Springs showing the hotel piazza. Photographer: W.H. Baker of Saratoga Springs, NY.

     Elegant hotels were built for affluent guests (figure 8) who were encouraged to walk, soak-in the fresh air and of course “take in the waters.” In his history of Saratoga County, Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester wrote that “The hotels of Saratoga are its pride and crowning glory. Nowhere else in the world can such a splendid array be seen in the same city or village so near each other.  And now, during these centennial years of the first rude openings of the springs in the northern wilds, this whole village is crowded with hotels, the largest, grandest, best appointed in the world, within a stone's throw of each other, and glittering with more than oriental splendor (figure 9). When all lighted up on a summer evening, the streets filled with gay promenaders, - the wit, the wealth, the fashion, and the beauty of half the world all there, - the scene presented is like that of some fairy-land. Surely has some enchanter touched with magic wand those old rude hotels of a century ago, and transformed them into palaces like those famous in eastern story” (Sylvester 1878).

Figure 8 – An 1862 print of the Clarendon Hotel in Saratoga Springs. The History of Saratoga County, NY has the following description of the hotel: The Clarendon, the only hotel in Saratoga Springs which is painted white, with green blinds, is a quiet summer home, frequented by people of culture and refinement, seeking rest and recreation. It will accommodate about three hundred and fifty people. The spring was purchased with the hotel property, and is situated on its grounds. Its waters are popular. Mr. Leland, the proprietor, is a younger member of the Leland family, celebrated in connection with first-class hotels in America. The hotel is situated on Broadway, near Congress Street, and in the neighborhood of Congress grove.

Figure 9 – Circa 1870 stereoview revealing the splendor of the parlor in the Grand Union Hotel.

     Period photographs and engravings reveal that there were several Indian encampments in and around Saratoga Springs. The Abenaki and the Mohawk would set up for the summer at both Saratoga (figures 10, 11 and 12) and nearby Lake George (figures 13 and 14) where they sold their craft work as souvenirs to area visitors. The encampment scene, with its many concession stands, brings to mind images of modern-day arts and crafts fairs. Like their ancestors, the 19^th century Mohawk and Abenaki were drawn to the mineral springs not just as vendors but because they also considered the healing properties of the spring waters to be sacred. The mineral springs of Saratoga were the only naturally carbonated spring waters east of the Rocky Mountains.

Figure 10 – One panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of an Indian encampment at Saratoga Springs. The two images on the right are close-ups revealing more details of the individual concessions stands. I don’t see much beadwork but there are a lot of bow’s hanging from the displays and some baskets can be seen on the table tops. Photographer: D. Barnum, Cortland, NY.

Figure 11 - One panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of an Indian encampment at Saratoga Springs. The two images on the right are close-ups revealing more details of the individual concession stands. Again, not much in the way of beadwork is visible but bows and baskets seem to predominate the items that were for sale. Photographer: Wm. H. Sipperly. 

Figure 12 - One panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of the Indian encampment at Saratoga Springs. The two images on the right are close-ups revealing more details of the individual concession stands. One of the concession stands offered “bird shooting.” The view was published by Edwards & Luce of Cortland, NY.

Figure 13 – Circa 1872 albumen print of the Indian Encampment at Lake George. Photographer: Seneca Ray Stoddard (1844–1917). 

Figure 14 – One panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of the Indian encampment at Lake George. The two images on the right are close-ups revealing more details. Bows and baskets can be seen in this view as the predominant items that were for sale.

Emily Rolandson wrote that:

One of the earliest camps was located at Pine Grove, near North Broadway.... It was more like a festival where the Indians happened to gather than an actual encampment, but Pine Grove set the standard for other encampments of the area (figure 15).

The largest and most famous of these camps was located in Congress Park. This encampment, also referred to as the Gypsy Camp, was originally founded in 1848 where Broadway and Ballston Avenue meet. A band of Indians arrived each year (probably from Canada) to staff the encampment. They arrived in late spring, and stayed through the end of autumn or whenever the first snow arrived.

The camp was moved to Congress Park in the 1870s, on the corner of Circular Street and Spring Street. It remained there until 1902, when Richard Canfield purchased the property and replaced the camp with the Italian Gardens and Trout Pond of Congress Park (Rolandson 2005).

Figure 15 – An engraving of the Pine Grove Indian Camp in Saratoga Springs, NY. Published in an 1876 issue of Harpers New Monthly Magazine.

     Art historian Ruth Phillips interviewed a number of beadworkers from the Mohawk community at Kahnawake who fondly recalled the great quantities of material that were produced for an extended selling stint at Saratoga Springs (Phillips 1998:65) and there are traditions among the Abenaki that they were selling there as well.

     Todd DeGarmo, the Director of Folklife Programs, Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, NY has written that “summer resorts and other tourist centers throughout the Northeast became ideal locations for Native entrepreneurship. Beginning in the late 18^th century with mineral springs resorts, and continuing well into the 20^th century with roadside attractions, people of Abenaki and Iroquois descent actively participated in the upstate [NY] tourist trade as hunting and fishing guides, cooks, vendors of baskets and souvenirs, and players in pageants and re-creations… Indian camps often became the center of this activity (figure 16). Located on the fringes of resorts, they were visited by seasonal clients, often including prominent politicians and industrialists of the day. The products offered were adaptations of traditional arts: woodslore skills such as hunting, trapping, and guiding; and manufacture of baskets from black ash and sweetgrass, deerskin moccasins, beaded whimseys, and miniature birchbark canoes (DeGarmo 1993). You can read the entire article by DeGarmo here.

Figure 16 – The image on the left is one panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of an Indian Camp in upstate New York. The other two images are detail enlargements. The Nation of the people depicted is unclear; they are either Mohawks or Abenakis. Printed on the back of the stereoview is the following: Scenery among the Thousand Islands on the River St. Lawrence. From Crossmon House Photographic Studio. Alexandria Bay, Jefferson County, N.Y. - A.C. McIntyre & Co., Artists.

     There were renowned Native guides in the area such as Mitchell Sabattis (1824-1906) an Abanaki hunter and trapper who is believed to have been a leading contributor to the development of the Adirondack guide boat (DeGarmo 1993).

     DeGarmo says that most of the Native people who frequented the resort areas “remained anonymous, segregated into enclaves throughout the region. The Fox Hill Indian settlement northwest of Saratoga Springs, whose inhabitants worked in the white oak barrel factory and usually traded at Batchlerville or Middle Grove is a case in point. Lake George was home to descendant of the St. Francis Abenaki.  Though they sent their children to the local school … and buried their dead in the Catholic Church cemetery, they, too, largely kept to themselves within their own section of town. Others made their permanent homes in Canada on the reservations, with ties to the resorts. Each to which they usually returned year after year….

     DeGarmo goes on to say that “some [Indian] families were sufficiently affluent to hire less independent basket makers, such as single girls and widows, to make baskets during the winter and to demonstrate basketry and tend shop at the resorts. Local people were also hired to do household chores so the women could spend more time making baskets. By the late 19^th century the successful Abenaki basket makers are said to have had the luxury of buying prepared splints from the French at Pierreville and cleaned sweet grass, braided or plain, from the farmers who cultivated it. Some even purchased from French women small sweetgrass baskets such as thimble cases, scissors holders and pin cushions to be inserted into the work baskets (DeGarmo 1993).

     Native people “set up booths at local fairs and traveled to other resorts in the vicinity. The Fox Hill Indians made the trip into Saratoga Springs to sell provisions to the large hotels. They also marketed furs and wild medicinal plants, and sold homemade items to the tourists, including baskets, snowshoes, moccasins, gloves and mittens and small novelty birch bark canoes. The inhabitants of the Lake George Indian Encampment (figures 17, 18, & 19) who were in the basket and souvenir business on site, traveled to the smaller outlying hotels to the north and at one time held classes in basket weaving for fashionable guests at the exclusive hotels on Lake George. The late Andrew Joseph (born 1892), half Abenaki and a renowned black ash basket maker, was born at an Indian Encampment in Saratoga Springs and learned  the craft from his father, who sold baskets every summer to the large hotels on Long Lake and Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks. Added attractions like the game, set-up-a-cent, pitting the bow shooting skills of young boys against pennies set up by visitors, were used to attract tourist to the Indian Camp in Saratoga Springs (DeGarmo 1993).

Figure 17 – One panel from a stereoview of what was likely an Abenaki basketmaker. Titled: The Young Basket Maker, Lake George. Photographer: Seneca Ray Stoddard of Glens Falls, NY. 1870s.

Figure 18 – One panel from a stereoview of what was likely a group of young Abenakis.  Titled: Group of Young Indians, Lake George. Photographer: Seneca Ray Stoddard of Glens Falls, NY. 1870s.

Figure 19a – Cabinet card of Peter Lawrences’ concession at the Indian encampment, Lake George, NY. Dated August 6, 1892 on the back.

Figure 19b – Detail view of the cabinet card in figure 19a. Some of his baskets can be seen on the display table.

     Shooting skills were highly regarded during this period. Entertainers who could perform exciting and dangerous feats, such as those demonstrated by sharpshooters such as Annie Oakley and Prairie Flower (figure 20), earned their fame in the Wild West shows. Before the invention of movies, TV and the internet, Wild West and medicine shows were one of the major entertainment events of the time and that only added to the interest the public had in the abilities of Annie Oakley and other exciting entertainers. The Ohio History Central website relates that “Oakley became known as "Miss Annie Oakley, the Peerless Lady Wing-Shot (wing shots were experts at shooting birds in flight).” In her act, Oakley routinely split a card in two edge-wise with a single shot from thirty paces. She shot cigarettes out of her husband's mouth and, on a tour of Europe, even performed this same act with Crown Prince Wilhelm, who eventually became Kaiser Wilhelm II, the leader of Germany. Oakley also shot dimes thrown into the air.”

 Figure 20 – Cabinet card, 4 x 5.8 inches. 1880-1890. Louisa Stump (aka Prairie Flower) was born on May 5, 1868 of Iroquois parents from Kahnawake. She was an expert shot and traveled with the Kiowa Medicine Company for a time. She also worked with several other shows during that period. She was known to her friends as Rosy Gordon. Buffalo Bill Cody called her "The Prairie Flower" when she worked for him. She also awed the crowds with her trick shooting under the name "Texas Lillie". Her picture appeared in the National Police Gazette on July 26, 1890, where she challenged all "wing shots" in the world.  Louisa died in the 1940s. Posed in this image with her husband, Louis Belmont Newell. Private collection.

     These incredible feats of marksmanship amazed and excited people and in many of the encampment images, shooting booths can be seen where visitors could demonstrate their sharpshooting skills. The detail shot in figure 12 shows a tent with a large sign across the top that reads “BIRD SHOOTING.” There are large targets in the background and some bows are hung from a rafter on the right. Figure 21 appears to be a shooting range at an Indian encampment is Saratoga Springs. Several men can be seen in the center detail shot holding rifles and one appears to be shooting at a target down range from the booth. Target shooting can also be seen in the foreground of figure 22.

 Figure 21 – One panel from a circa 1870 stereoview of a shooting range at an Indian encampment in Saratoga Springs. Photographer: Hall Brothers of Brooklyn, NY.

Figure 22a – Late 19^th century lithograph of an Indian Encampment in Saratoga Springs, NY. There are two large targets in the left foreground with both a man and a woman shooting arrows at it. There are a number of Indian concession stands visible in the background. 

Figure 22b – Detail views from figure 22a. At detail (B) two Native individuals appear to be mingling with visitors or perhaps they were just offering them something for sale. There may also be commerce taking place in detail (C) between the two Native individuals and what was no doubt another visitor. The right hand target in this detail view appears to be a smiley face.

     Some of the encampments in Saratoga Springs appear to be quite large (figure 23) but the range of items Native vendors offered for sale, especially beadwork, is not always clear from the photographs. An interesting item that you rarely see in collections today is the fans that Native people made (figure 24c). Visible along the top of the stereoview in figure 24a, each one appeared to have a different design. I don’t recall ever coming across one of these although if I did, I might not have recognized it as an item of Indian manufacture. Figure 24 is also the only Saratoga image I’m familiar with that has some beadwork in it. You can see what appears to be a floral decorated barrel purse on the display table behind the seated woman in figure 24b. The beadwork that Mohawk vendors sold there was not necessarily different from the beadwork they sold in other venues although items with the beaded inscription “Saratoga” are not that common (figure 25).

Figure 23a – Circa 1905 photo of an Indian Encampment in Saratoga Springs, NY, possibly in Congress Park. The scene appears to be just outside the encampment as a gateway with large signs that reads “Indian Encampment Studio” can be seen in the middle/left section of the photo (see the next image for more detail).

Figure 23b – Detail view of figure 16a. On display just below and to the left of the large “encampment” sign are two large racks offering postcards for sale.

Figure 24a – An oversized stereo view of an Indian encampment in Saratoga Springs titled: No. 51, Indian Encampment. Early 1880s. Photographer: Aaron Veeder of Albany, New York. The three subjects in the foreground are possibly Mohawks. The Bi-Centennial History of Albany (published in 1886) indicated that Veeder had the leading photography studio in Albany alongside the Notman Photographic Co., a branch of their Montreal studio. This publication also indicated that Veeder made a successful transition from landscape photography to portraiture in 1881, so this image likely dates to sometime after that.

Figure 24b – Detail view of figure 24a. What looks like a beaded barrel purse can be seen on the display table in the background; fancy baskets can be seen in the case behind the young lady on the right.

Figure 24c – A group of Native made fans. It’s difficult to determine the construction material from this image but they could have been made from basket making material such as black ash, and made in a similar fashion to a lid that you would find on a basket. They don’t appear to be the type that Huron were making that were decorated with real feathers. 

Figure 24d – A tintype from the last quarter of the 19^th century. The subject is holding a fan and has another on his lap. These look similar to the ones depicted in figure 24c although these appear to be the type that was made from cut paper that would then fold down in an accordion style.

Figure 25 – A six-lobed Mohawk pincushion with the beaded inscription that it was from Saratoga. Dated 1903 in beads. From the collection of Karlis Karklins. 

     The next two images both have the beaded inscription that they were from Saratoga (figures 26 & 27).

Figure 26 – A beaded match-holder with the inscription that it was from Saratoga. Dated 1900 in beads. From the collection of Karlis Karklins.

Figure 27 – A lovely six-pointed pincushion in a star-like design with American flags and the beaded inscription that it was from Saratoga. Not dated but appears to be circa 1900. From the collection of Karlis Karklins. 

Figure 28 – Another six-lobed pincushion in a star-like design with American flags. When I first posted this image, something about the pincushion looked a little odd to me but it wasn't until Karlis Karklins mentioned his suspicion about it that I decided to take it down. Karlis said that the cushion looked like it had the center portion replaced, as the pink fabric didn't fit the space correctly (you can see a darker, perhaps red fabric beneath it in several places along the edges) and the beads were just too big.That pink fabric should extend to the edges of the points, and beneath the crystal beads but it appears to end at the margins of the crystal beads. The beads also appear to me to be of a more recent vintage so I decided to take it down. It was afterwards recommended that I put it back up so that we can have a discussion about it. So there you go. This piece is from the collection of Marnie Schreiber.

Figure 29 - Found recently in a western New York antique store mixed in among some other pieces of beadwork. The original pink fabric is almost completely moth eaten.  Approximately 8 inches in diameter. Late 19th century.

References Cited

DeGarmo, Todd

1993   Indian Camps and Upstate Tourism in the New York Folk Lore Newsletter, Volume 14, number 2, summer issue.

Phillips, Ruth

1998   Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700 – 1900. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London: McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal and Kingston.

Rollinson, Emily

2005    From a paper titled: Indian Encampments written under the advisement of Dr. William Fox (now retired), Skidmore College – 2005. 

Sterngass, Jon

2001    First Resorts: Pursuing Pleasure at Saratoga Springs, Newport, and Coney Island. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.

Sylvester, Nathaniel Bartlett

1978    History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. Philadelphia, PA: Everts & Ensign.