NO. 15 ROLL CALL OF IROQUOIS CHIEFS — FENTON I9 



roll of chiefs present, one for each of the pegs opposite which is 

 a representation of some characteristic in the chief's title. He does 

 not seem to have understood its use in the Condolence Council ritual. 

 To enrich the collector's understanding of the ceremonial setting, 

 nevertheless, the old Cayuga singer referred him to a copy of 

 Morgan's "League . . ." with its list of chiefs. Clearly this was the 

 cane that we were seeking. 



Observe that Spragg thought the cane coeval with the League, that 

 it had been handed down to him, and it is implied that two pegs cut 

 off reflect some controversy on relative status of doorkeepers to 

 other federal chiefs. 



The name "A SPRAG" is rudely carved on the back of the stick 

 near the handle in a somewhat different style from the drawings. 

 The question that this poses is not who had title to the cane. Rather, 

 our interest is to illustrate how an item of Indian personal property, 

 through long association with public ritual, came to be regarded as 

 tribal property, or, conversely, how public property may become 

 personalized. To be sure, certain properties such as wampum belts 

 belonged to the confederate council and they were entrusted to 

 appointed keepers among the chiefs. Such properties "belong to the 

 Nation." They are state properties, not exactly in the public domain. 

 Similarly each longhouse or ceremonial center has entrusted among 

 its membership certain paraphernalia which is used at stated festivals ; 

 this is band or tribal property ; it too belongs to the Nation. Never- 

 theless, one cannot readily distinguish between property that the 

 community owns and other similar things which individuals possess, 

 and sometimes own outright. Thus, a longhouse community will 

 harbor a bag of Husk Faces, corn-husk masks for the Midwinter 

 Festival and for family feasts to honor certain agricultural spirits 

 that have curing powers, but also members of that community will 

 personally own such items that they have inherited or that have been 

 made for them in response to dreams, thereby becoming personal 

 guardians ; and these they may lend or convey, within certain limita- 

 tions, as they will. 



The Iroquois draw the property line around the person in a way 

 that does not circumscribe as many kinds of property as among us. 

 Rather the individual participates in a wider sphere of property 

 sharing than we can conceive. He participates in tribal property, in 

 band property, that of his maternal family, his fireside household, 

 besides his own personal property. As an individual he owns outright 

 the tools and implements that he employs in his daily life, his weapons, 

 but physical belongings apart from these, such as a boat, he will lend 



