Collection Corner

The use of porcupine quills in embroidery is one of the oldest decorative traditions among American Indian tribes. The practice predates European contact by hundreds of years and was replaced gradually by glass beads brought by white traders. In the museum, we have an example of quillwork from the Sioux tribe as adornment on a pair of moccasins.

Once harvested from the porcupine, quills were washed and sorted by size. Quills that are between two to three inches long are ideal for crafting. Porcupine quills are naturally white in color with black tips. Plant materials such as sunflower for yellow, chokecherry for red, and Prince's Pine for green were used to create dyes by soaking the quills in solutions made from these plants for extended periods of time.

Once the desired color was reached, the quills were taken from the solution, washed, then softened in water to make them more pliable. Antler, wood, or bone could be used to flatten the quill, at which point it would be ready to be sewn or tied to the surface of an object or plaited into design. Animal sinew was most commonly used as thread and quills had to be stitched quickly to take advantage of the flexibility of the quill while it was still damp.

Techniques for embroidering with quills include wrapping, weaving, and sewing, with wrapping being the easiest. Quillwork was traditionally a woman's art and training in this medium was passed down from mother to daughter or from one quill worker to another. In some tribes, such as the Blackfeet, quillworking societies existed with specific customs and traditions.

Each tribe has an origin story for the skill of quillwork. The oral history of the Cheyenne tribe, for example, tells of a man who goes to his wife among the buffalo people to learn the art. Upon returning home, he shared the technique with the women of his tribe. Beginners would work on moccasins and cradleboards before advancing to more challenging projects such as buffalo hide robes.

Quillwork is common to tribes that had ready access to porcupines and thus range from the woodlands of the east coast of North America to Great Plains and north into Canada and Alaska. Among Plains Tribes, geometric designs such as rectangles, concentric circles, and triangles were popular distinctions. These designs carried into art even after quills were replaced by glass beadwork and can be seen in contemporary clothing styles among Plains American Indian tribes.

That's all for this week! Visit the museum for new gift shop items, including stuffed animals, Field Notes specialized notebooks and pens, books and more. Join us May 4 for a taxidermy demo at the Carter County Geological Society meeting, 7pm at the museum. The demo will be conducted by our Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Jennifer Hall, who is also an artist, taxidermist, and the planning coordinator for this year's Dino Shindig!