Marcia G. Anderson worked as curator of the Minnesota Historical Society's three-dimensional collections for thirty years.
A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag
Paperback
$34.95
- ISBN-13: 9781681340296
- Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
- Publication date: 05/15/2017
- Pages: 272
- Sales rank: 211,732
- Product dimensions: 8.40(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d)
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Bandolier bags, or gashkibidaaganag—the large, heavily beaded shoulder bags made and worn by several North American Indian tribes around the Great Lakes—are prized cultural icons here and around the world. From the 1870s to the present day, Ojibwe bead artists of Minnesota have been especially well known for their lively, creative designs. Neighboring Dakota people would trade a pony for a beautiful beaded bag.
Over the years, non-Indian collectors and ethnographers, struck by the bags' cultural significance and visual appeal, bought them up. Today, there are hundreds of bags in museums around the world, but not so many in the hands of community members. In A Bag Worth a Pony , Marcia G. Anderson shares the results of thirty years of study, in which she learned from the talented bead artists who keep the form alive, from historical records, and from the bags themselves.
Anderson examines the history, forms, structure, and motifs of the bags, giving readers the tools to understand a bag's makeup and meaning. She also offers a tour of Minnesota's seven Ojibwe reservations, showing the beautiful beaded bags associated with each along with the personal insights of seven master beadworkers.
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Library Journal
10/15/2017The Great Lakes region of North America is home to the Ojibwe people and their many bands, comprising one of the largest groups of indigenous people north of the Rio Grande. Their contributions to Native American craft include birch bark canoes and quill and bead work. Anderson, who for 30 years was curator of the Minnesota Historical Society's three-dimensional collections, has created a well-researched, beautifully illustrated history of the bandolier bags of the Ojibwe people. Known as gashkibidaaganag in the Ojibwe language, these bags are made from elaborate beadwork and represented status within the tribe. The bags, with a wide beaded strap to be worn across the body, were created mostly by women but worn by men during significant events and ceremonies. While one bag showed status, two bags with straps crossed over the chest was a symbol of great importance. The beadwork was elaborate with different motifs: flowers, geometric patterns, and symbols associated with the tribe. There are numerous color illustrations of bags, both historical and contemporary, and many photographs of Ojibwe proudly wearing them. VERDICT A wonderful introduction to an aspect of Native American art many may not be aware of.—Sandra Knowles, South Carolina State Lib., Columbia