Kwakiutl Tribal Mask of the Pacific Northwest Essay

The tribe lived in thatched houses before which were grass huts shaped like beehives. They had a communal way of life in their permanent habitations. When men went to hunt they build temporary shelters from buffalo hides. Before the modern times, the men dressed in breech clothes and occasionally putting on leather chaps to act as leg protection. Their hair was cut in traditional Mohawk or complete shaving of hair and wore single long tassel of hair on the top of the head. Women kept long hair styled in a bum or braid. They wore wrap around skirts and ponchos. In the modern times traditional dress and face paints are only reserved

Many Mesoamerican Indian groups in Mexico used and continue to use masks in their culture today. One of these Mesoamerican Indian groups includes the Hñahñu Indian people, also known as the Otomí Indians. Due to a loss of the unwritten customs and traditions that failed to continue by word of mouth, many mask-making origins have been lost. Researchers make assumptions with the little information they have obtained from researching the Otomíes and other close indigenous groups. The Otomí Indians associate many rituals with masks. Religious ceremonies and carnival celebrations often include masks. Masks were also often combined with storytelling, music, and rhythm (Bell). The masking rituals contain many religious and cultural aspects. The Otomí have a highly diverse history filled with cultural traditions in which masks are used to represent symbols or spirits. Masking traditions display the needs, beliefs, values and desire of a culture.

There are many different types of Native American tribes located in the United States, and there were even more when Europeans/settlers first arrived on the shores of the East coast. In the Subarctic and Arctic area (Alaska, Canada, and south of Canada) the only known surviving art is the Petrgoglyph site in Ontario. A lot of these art were painted hides from caribou and moose which were used to make bright colored clothing, tipi’s, and beaded boxes. When Europeans finally met these Native Americans, moose-hair tufting and floral glass beadwork became popular in that area greatly as they were influenced by the Grey Nuns which was a Canadian religious institute from the Roman Catholic Religious sisters founded in 1783. The Yup’ik of Alaska had a long tradition and remarkable style of carving masks for their rituals. These mask were classified as art due to their designs and

Native American art is a profoundly expressive culture that has been a way of life for so many Native Americans. Native American art history has advanced over thousands of years and is composed of several idiosyncratic styles from the differentiating cultures of diverse Indian tribes. From Navajo to Hopi, each tribe has a particular history, which consists of many types of Native American arts including beadwork, jewelry, weaving, pottery, carvings, kachinas, masks, totem poles, and more. To truly understand Native American art, we will explore Native American art history, its subjects, and if Native American art has a spiritual connection to it.

The Cheyenne had an interesting culture and way of life. Boys were taught how to hunt, fish, and fight from their fathers. Girls learned how to cook, clean, and do chores around the house. Also, the children went to school and played with dolls, toys, and games. For example, the Cheyenne kids enjoyed playing the hoop game and lacrosse. A Cheyenne woman was responsible for building her family’s house. She dragged heavy posts with her whenever the tribe moved. Later on, the Cheyenne Indians killed buffalo so they could use buffalo hide to make teepees. They lived in teepees because it was easy to set up and take down. As a result of moving frequently, a teepee allowed the Cheyenne tribe to move within an hour. The Cheyenne women harvested corn, squash, and beans while the men hunted deer and buffalo. Also, they ate fish, fruit, and berries. For clothing, the Cheyenne women wore long deerskin dresses that were decorated with porcupine quills, shells, and elk teeth. Cheyenne men wore breechcloths with leather leggings in colder climates. Men wore moccasins while the women wore high fringed boots. Chief leaders had tall feather headdresses and long warbonnets. The hair style for men was long braids with a topknot and women wore their hair loose or braided. The Cheyennes painted their faces for war, religious ceremonies, and feasts. Lastly, the Cheyenne people were very religious. They performed an elaborate Sun Dance, smoked peace pipes, built ceremonial houses, and four arrows represented their sacred object.

The Timucua Tribe was once a thriving group of Native Americans. They lived in the northern parts of Florida. In the cooler winter months, they migrated inland to the forests where they worked as farmers, growing crops of all sorts. In addition to farming, they also hunted animals for food. In the warmer summer months, they migrated closer to the coasts where they fished for food.

A government surveyor drew a line separating the Wallowa Valley. The Nez Perce objected. The Nez Perce claimed, “the Indians who signed the new treaty were the leaders of other bands and had no right to give up land that was not even theirs” (Williams & Youngs, 5). This is how the Non-Treaty came about. Soon the whites and Indians fought over the land and Indians were killed, one that was best friend with Joseph, he felt like he was is brother. Burial was granted to bury the Indian in the valley by General Howard.

The Pawnee indians had many different reasons and ways of art. They made things like pottery and Dream Catchers. There were many different types of Pawnee art. Art was mostly made by the women and young girls of the village. The woman of the village worked hard on the art used for many different things. Things such as bead and feathers were used to decorate art and clothing.

The Inuit, Haida, and Iroquois have multiple things in common. All of them do carving as a form of art. Inuit usually carve to portray

Don’t be confused when an Indian tribe is called the Chippewa or the Ojibway because they are the same tribe. French settlers could not pronounce Ojibway correctly so they called the tribe the Chippewa. Have you ever wanted to know about the Ojibway Indians? If you read on, you will learn many interesting facts about this tribe.

I have encountered Native Americans in my life as a student at Washington State University that consists of people of all different races, experiences, and identities, including Native Americans. Many of these people can recognize the prejudice, through blatant and covert forms, although others come from privileged backgrounds that may not be as aware of the white supremacist culture that ultimately dictates and polices their actions and opportunities. Unless in their traditional Native garb, these individual are undistinguishable as they often wear the same clothes, perform similar typical activities, and are immersed amongst other non-Natives. I have also encountered many Natives in my hometown in the Yakima Valley, as it borders a reservation

They had ceremonies for several things. They have Midwinter ceremonies, Nature ceremonies, Maple sap ceremonies, Planting ceremonies, Bean ceremonies, Strawberry ceremonies, Green corn ceremonies, and Harvest ceremonies. Dances and songs are preformed counter clockwise. Some dances are preformed by men. Others are preformed by women. However both kept a beat played on drums and rattles. They like to have funny and fun ceremonies. The Onondaga tribe usually wears headdresses but women and men wear a type of skirt with sandals or slippers. The clothing they wear is specifically called The Gustoweh. The Gustoweh describes one nationality. The women and men would wear a type of pair of shoes that are like slippers with a flower on the front. They didn't wear long headdresses like the

Furthermore, Masks is another great example used by Sam Gill. He clearly reveals that often times we misinterpret the meaning of mask: that they only hold a space on a shelf among others like itself, otherwise known as a collection. However, masks hold a bigger significance than that. To the Natives, masks are living and when masked performances take place, the deities are present. To view mask as art alone is to minimize the actual beauty and value behind the entire mask and its' function. There is a reason for its existence and it's not just to be creative and productive. Typically, we consider masks as objects that hide or conceal something. In the Native Americans' case, this is the furthest from the truth. Performing a mask in a ritual is

The third mask also deals with a secret society. This carved wood “Helmet Mask” (inventory # 5-13259) is thought to be from the Bamileke society of Cameroon and is dated to about 1976. Used in a men’s secret society known as the Kwifo (“night”), masks in this style disguised the members identities as they acted as a police force for the king. The Kwifo mediated conflicts, pronounced legal sentences, and carried out the resulting punishments. Different masks represented the various powers of the group and the carved headdress of this mask mirrors the prestige caps worn by elites and kings. The intertwined “legs” represent the earth spider, which, because it lived underground was thought to unite the world of the ancestors and spirits, who live in the earth, with that of humans. Revered for its supernatural wisdom and power it is often consulted

Kapa has different patterns to wear for certain people. Kapa uses trees and shrubs to make the fabrics. “Kapa is primarily on the creative combination of linear elements that cross and converge to form squares, triangles, chevrons, and diagonal forms, giving a feeling of boldness and directness ("Pre-European”).” The Native Hawaiians use Kapa as banners to hang pictures of gods. The patterns are still being used today’s fashion and art skills, too.