Metis Octopus Bags

By Lawrence J. Barkwell

Octopus Bags from the Canadian Museum of Civilization Collection, !"#!$%, photo &y 'arry (oster Octopus &ags are used for to&acco, flint and steel and personal medicines. )he earliest carrying &ags and pouches were constructed of whole animal skins. )hese were worn folded over &elts or suspended from the neck on netted vegeta&le thongs. *ith e+posure to ,uropean military &andolier &ags and trade cloth this style was lost and replaced &y the trade cloth octopus &ag which has ta&s-the vestiges of an animals legs-

while the opening represents the animals mouth. 'owever, the use of animal skin &ags survives among the Midewiwin who carry &eaded pouches made of otter pelts. )he decoration on &oth the pelt and cloth &ags reflects the Midewiwin priests reliance on plant life for the healing process. /ream imagery was also 0uilled or &eaded onto the pouches Metis 1fire &ags2 now called octopus &ags are &ased on the animal skin &ags made &y the 3lgon0uian 4ndians. )hese are case#skinned &ags which the 5aulteau+ of Manito&a used to call 1Many Legs Bags2 &ecause the legs and tail were left on and were 0uill#worked or &eaded. 5hown &elow are otter skin &ags used in Midewiwin ceremonies. Although otter pouches such as these are often associated with the Midewiwin or Medicine 5ociety of the 6reat Lakes region, they were also widely used on the 7lains as to&acco and pipe containers.

Midewiwin style otter &ag.

)he Metis originally called these 1fire &ags2 or shot pouches &ecause they were used to carry flint and steel, to&acco and pipes or for ammunition. 3rt historian ate /uncan argues that the ta&&ed fire &ags of the Metis developed among the Metis people of the Lake *innipeg area and gradually through trade made their way to the )lingit people of the 9orthwest Coast. Because these &ags had the eight arms of the 1devilfish2 or octopus they were used to catching, these &ags with their four dou&le pendants suggesting the tentacles of the octopus eventually &ecame known as octopus &ags and the name made its way &ack east to the area of origin..

Otter &ag with 0uill#worked legs and tail

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Megan 3. 5metzer, 1)lingit /ance Collars and Octopus Bags: ,m&odying 7ower and ;esistance,2 American Indian Art Magazine, <olume =>, 9o. ., *inter 8$$!: ?>#@=.

9oted curator )ed Brasser8 e+plains the origin of octopus &ags thus: Ancestral to these peculiar bags were similar bags made of skin and decorated with painted designs, made by the Ojibwa Indians of the western Great Lakes region in the eighteenth century After the American !ar of Independence de"elopments in the Great Lakes region forced the local fur traders to mo"e to more western frontiers !ith them went many of the Ojibwa Indians as well as a large number of M#tis, the half$breed %children of the fur trade& 'he M#tis were employed as canoe peddlers, while their women made a li"ing with the production of snowshoes, moccasins, and other garments for the traders and their nati"e customers

/etail of 0uill#worked tail

/r. ).J. Brasser, in a 8$$? write up for an octopus &ag in the *arnock collection featured in the 5plendid 'eritage ,+hi&it at the Atah Museum of (ine 3rt, downloaded January >, 8$.$ from www.splendidheritage.com

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After their settlement on the (ed (i"er in southern Manitoba these M#tis adopted the tabbed skin bags of their Ojibwa relati"es as the prototype in creating the first octopus bags )tilizing the floral style of embroidery taught in mission schools the (ed (i"er M#tis de"eloped a distinct style of floral beadwork *y c +,-., their colorful firebags became popular all o"er the northern /lains, northwards into the 0ukon, and westwards along the 1olombia (i"er Octopus bags of (ed (i"er M#tis origin ha"e been collected from all these regions, but it did not take long before the Indians created their own "ersions as well Along major trade routes from southern Manitoba, M#tis firebags reached the northern 1ree by the +,2.s 'he floral art of the M#tis bags appears to ha"e strongly appealed to the 1ree women3 it moti"ated them to de"elop a floral style of beadwork that became a hallmark of 1ree art in northern Manitoba and northern Ontario

Octopus &ag made &y L. Barkwell, B.$ &eads on purple velvet. 7hoto &y Leah /orion. )he white &eaded edging is done in 1zipper stitch2 style.

Construction: Metis &ags were usually constructed of two panels of &lack woolen 5troud cloth Cor &lack velvetD which was &eaded &efore sewing the panels together. )he panels are usually edged with silk ri&&on. 3ll &eadwork was usually done in the two#needle spot stitch style of appli0uE. 3 dou&le thread is used to lay the line of &eads down on the fa&ric and it is then couched down with a second needle and single thread with a whipstitch usually &etween each &ead or every second &ead. (or strength and longevity the dou&le thread is wa+ed with &eeswa+. )he Metis floral designs are distinct in that all the motifs are usually connected with tendrils or stems. )hey also e+hi&it the OFi&wa pattern of always representing four parts of the plants. (loral patterns included four states of vegetation, seed, leaf, bud, and fruit
or stem, leaf, bud and flower. This cycle of four corresponds to myriad other four quarters analogies in Ojibwa/ hippewa thought.

Metis designs sometimes contain the

!"! and cross motifs which suggest the cardinal directions as well as Ojibwe spiritual concepts. #ccording to $avid %enney = the designs are &pictorial or diagrammatic metaphors of a larger, sacred universe'( the four quarters and asymmetrical design reconcile opposites, just as the cosmos creates balance and harmony. #symmetrical yet balanced designs and compositions are also suggestive of male)female balance and harmony. The asymmetry and alternating elements e*press Ojibwe spiritual concepts' they visually reconcile opposites, just as the cosmos creates balance and harmony. +or a discussion of how ,ative #merican women transformed missionary)taught floral designs into their own styli-ed beadwor. see &+loral $ecoration and ulture hange/ #n 0istorical 1nterpretation of 2otivation( American Indian Culture and Research Journal 34/3 536637/ 48)99.

/avid 7enney. GChippewa Beaded 5houlder BagsG Bags of Friendship: Bandolier Bags of the Great Lakes Indians, 2orning :tar ;allery, 366<
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Octopus Bag, 5outhesk Collection, =oyal #lberta 2useum ;ed ;iver Metis attri&ution.

)he ;ed ;iver Metis octopus &ag, shown a&ove, collected &y the ,arl of 5outhesk in .!>" is &eaded on &rown 5troud with very small &eads CB.!D. )he design is asymmetric yet &alanced. )he H pattern formed &y the placement of the motifs is 0uite evident. Mary Christie nEe 5inclair> CMetisD is &elieved to have given the ,arl of 5outhesk the elegantly &eaded fire&ag Cwith initials *JCD shown a&ove during his visit to ,dmonton. )his artifact is presently in the 5outhesk Collection at the ;oyal 3l&erta Museum. )he likelihood that Mary Christie learned to sew and &ead from women who had &een raised in an 3nishnaa&e aesthetic tradition fits well with the suggestion that she created the I*JCI fire &ag with its 3nishnaa&e design elements. )he central &looms visi&le on side B correspond with the four#petalled rose, a popular motif in mid#."th century 3nishnaa&e &eadwork. Other characteristically 3nishnaa&e features include the depiction of leaves, &uds, fruit, and &looming roses &orne on a single stem, the use of translucent &eads to create maFor design elements, stippling Cnote the placement of individual red &eads in the medallion motif on side 3D, and ela&orate leaf motifs. Most striking of all are the series of

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Mary 5inclair Christie was one of the prominent 1Metis (irst Ladies2 of the fur trade. Mary was &orn a&out .!=$ in the ;ainy Lake region of northern Ontario, most likely at the /alles where her father, *illiam 5inclair 44, was in charge of the 'udsonIs Bay Company post. 'er mother, Mary Mc ay 5inclair, was a MEtis woman of 3nishnaa&e descent and it was here, in 3nishnaa&e country, that Mary 5inclair spent most of her childhood.

diamonds that run down each ta&. )he diamond motif is an ancient 3nishnaa&e design element that appears in diverse media

Octopus &ag made &y Lawrence Barkwell, from a design &y Jennine rauchie, 8!cm + >"cm. On &lack velvet with wool tassels.

)he &ag shown a&ove shows a &alanced asymmetry and the placement of the motifs forms a cross. )he &eaded ela&orations along the stems are commonly called 1mouse

tracks2 or 1pickerel guts.2 )he &ag is lined with calico cotton cloth, a common techni0ue &ecause historically calico was very ine+pensive.

3 /ene#Cree#Metis Octopus Bag circa .!@$, the 'affenreffer Museum B%@#>8,

)he &ag shown a&ove was collected &y ,mma 5haw Colcleugh in .!">. 4t is made of &lack wool &roadcloth, 8%.% cm + >! cm, with a navy ri&&on &order with zipper stitch edging. )his design is symmetrical with each side the mirror image of the other. )he five# petal 1Metis2 or 7rairie ;ose motifs were considered to &e the trademark of Metis women.

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Compiled &y Lawrence Barkwell Coordinator of Metis 'eritage and 'istory ;esearch Louis ;iel 4nstitute

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