Beaver Hats to Hockey Pads: A Social History of Felt in Canada: Part 6

First Nations

A museum artifact tells a story of oppression and survival…

LEFT: Chief Bearskin’s head dress, brimless felt hat beneath felt bound eagle feathers, 1930s, Collection of the ROM
CENTRE: Breechcloth worn by Chief Bearskin, 1930s, beadwork and felt appliqué, Collection of the ROM
RIGHT: Cree from Nekaneet in the Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan, 1930s
with Bearskin, Crooked Leg, and Peeper (photo: Glenbow Archives)

While not as common as melton, stroud or duffel, felt was a trade cloth that is still used by indigenous peoples of North America as it makes an excellent support for beadwork. An historical example of such felt is found on a breechcloth from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) collection known to have been worn by Bearskin, Chief of the Nekaneet First Nation in Saskatchewan in the 1930s. The beadwork shows Plains geometric patterns and Woodlands style of floral work, reflecting the migration and adaptation of many Cree from Woodlands roots to Prairie settlement.

The Cree Nekaneet Reserve is centrally positioned in the true high plains region of Saskatchewan. Through the 1800s, the federal government tried to keep the First Nations from gathering in these desirable Cypress Hills, and by 1882 most Cree and Assiniboin were pushed to reserves in other parts of the province. But the Nekaneet band refused to leave even as they were destitute. In 1913 the government gave them a reserve, but not until 1975 were they provided with the Treaty benefits they’d been denied for almost a hundred years. According to ROM curator Arni Brownstone, in 1930 the Museum paid $50.00 for the above-pictured garments to a rancher who traded them with Bearskin for food.

The Nekaneet First Nation is now a member of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, committed to protecting Inherent and Treaty rights since 1946. KW