632 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 192 8 



The Chippewa inhabit the northeastern woodlands of the United 

 States where abundant timber and bark can be procured for con- 

 struction of canoes, houses, and implements. No aboriginal costumes 

 of the Chippewa exist, as the tribe has been in contact with civiliza- 

 tion for several hundred years. The Chippewa to-day tan excellent 

 buckskin which formerly was used by them for clothing. They also 

 weave belts, sashes, and other objects from yarn on a simple upright 

 frame and make excellent bags decorated with beadwork in floral 

 designs. (PI. 2.) 



Dolh. — The little figure of a Chippewa infant in the Museum was 

 dressed by a Chippewa woman of the White Earth Reservation in 

 Minnesota. It shows the costume of the Chippewa since the traders 

 came among them. The purpose of the fitted cap was to keep the 

 child's head in good shape. The little hoops with yarn lattice had 

 a curative use. It is said that a child with a cold was required to 

 expectorate through one of these hoops and that its cold was cured 

 in this manner. The little velvet bag contains the cord of the child 

 who died in 1890 and who was a son of the woman who dressed this 

 figure. Such a bag was always fastened to the cradle of an infant to 

 insure its health and welfare. 



A shawl was laid over a Chippewa cradle to protect the child's 

 head from cold in winter and from the sun in summer. This cradle 

 was a comfortable and convenient way of taking care of babies, 

 especially when the tribe was moving from one place to another. 

 Many of the articles in the exhibit of the Chippewa (pi. 2) were 

 collected by Frances Densmore. 



Dolls are in use among all the tribes of the American aborigines 

 from the Eskimo of the North to the inhabitants of Tierra del 

 Fuego. They seem to be divisible into two classes — those which 

 portray the common life,' through which children are taught the arts 

 and habits of the tribe, and those of a more sacred character, which 

 lead up to the tribal religion. In the accompanying Plates 25, 26 are 

 exhibited dolls of a more practical character. In each example the 

 dress and accessories show the customs and activities of the people 

 represented. The Eskimo lead with respect to great variety and 

 abundance of dolls, also in the realism of their dolls. Dolls are 

 interesting as showing the costumes of the various tribes. 



Cradles. — In the Arctic region the Eskimo women carry their 

 infants on their backs inside of their warm fur clothing. (PI. 5.) 

 From the southern boundary of the United States through middle 

 America and southward, infants are carried upon the person of the 

 mother, but rarely in frames. On the contrary, in the temperate regions 

 of Canada and the United States the babe is fixed in a frame which 

 is in harmony with the climate and materials. In the country of the 



