Artifact of the Week - Woven hat and Child's moccasins

This week’s featured artifacts are a woven hat and moccasins. These artifacts are a part of a larger donation from the Anglican Church of Canada, Diocese of Athabasca. The objects come from St. Peter’s Residential School in Hay River, N.W.T., ca. 1895-98. Some of the other artifacts in this donation include birchbark rogans, a powder horn, dolls clothing made of deer hide, moccasins and a beaded tobacco bag.

The hat is woven of spruce or tamarack roots and decorated with a band of dyed porcupine quills. This hat was created by the Mackenzie River First Nations people in 1898.

The child’s moccasins are made of hide and decorated with fur and beading. They were made by the residents of St. Peter’s Residential School in 1898.

The Museum is featuring a new exhibit filled with Plains and West Coast First Nations objects, all from the personal collection of local Peace River doctor, David Welch. As an addition to all of Dr. Welch's pieces, the Museum has added some of those found in our First Nations collection. All of these wonderful pieces can be found in the Main and Fur Traders galleries at the Museum.