Ojibwa Crafts

In the first half of the twentieth century, the Ojibwa (Chippewa) people of the western Great Lakes region still retained many of their traditional tribal ways of life—ways of life which included a wealth of ingenious and clever crafts based upon their understanding and use of natural local materials. With few tools but a long history, skilled artisans created the everyday articles needed for shelter, food preparation, clothing, and ceremonials; they also found time to make decorative items for exchange at trading posts or for sale to tourists who passed though their lands.

Carrie A. Lyford observed the tribes of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and recorded this story of their material culture artifacts. This book, first published in 1943, included Maple Sugar Making, Wild Rice Harvesting, Birch Bark Work, Basket Making, Woven Bands and Bags, Tanning, Quillwork and Beadwork, Ribbon Work, and Native Dyes.

Photographs are amplified by verbal descriptions of the manufacture and use of the objects. Of particular interest to many scholars are the Ojibwa names given for most of these crafts. A splendid bibliography is appended as a guide for further study. Indians and non-Indians will appreciate the last 50 plates especially, for these illustrate in linear drawings authentic designs which may easily by adapted for original or new media by contemporary craftsmen.