Birch-Bark Scroll, Writing

Object Details

Collector

Dr. Ales F. Hrdlicka

Donor Name

Dr. Ales F. Hrdlicka

From card: "Found on a tree in the woods (in spring of 1916) [by Ales Hrdlicka]. Represents a horse led by a man, trees, etc. and conveys idea that man (Joe) has found lost horse in forest and is leading him in."

The acquisition of this bark writing was reported in "Local Notes", an internal Smithsonian staff publication. The issue dated September 19, 1916, in the section on New Accessions notes: "The division of ethnology ... has received an interesting specimen of recent Chippewa picture writing on birch bark from the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. It was found by Dr. Ales Hrdlicka posted on a tree in the woods, and presented to the division by him. It appears from the story that a man lost his horse, and went out hunting in the forest for it. In the mean-time another man found the horse, and posted this pictograph notice to advise the owner. The picture shows the finder leading the horse out of the forest to safety, and is signed by him. Dr. Hrdlicka says that there are only two men in the region about the White Earth Reservation who know the art of picture writing thoroughly."

Record Last Modified

9 Dec 2022

Specimen Count

1

Culture

Chippewa (Ojibwe, Anishinaabe)

Accession Date

14 Sep 1916

Accession Number

060233

USNM Number

E292135-0

Object Type

Bark Scroll

Place

Not Given, White Earth Reservation, Minnesota, United States, North America

See more items in

Anthropology

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

Topic

Ethnology

Record ID

nmnhanthropology_8385791

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3be64629a-fe8a-4f7e-949a-b1344d9a1cf2