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Cornhusk bag / Native American; Nez Perce

Essay/Description

Small twined corn husk bag with various geometric designs. The bag is decorated with dyed red and green yarn on the front and on the flap of the bag, and dyed red yarn on the back. The bag has two leather straps on the back and a leather tie on the front.

“Friendship bags,” also known as corn-husk bags, are made of twined cornhusk and contain woven, and sometimes beaded, elaborate geometric or naturalistic designs (Paterek 1994, 212-213). Women often used these bags to “store edible roots and many sorts of valuable goods” (Berlo & Phillips 1998, 132). The Plateau Indians also traded these bags with many different tribes and later with white explorers and settlers.

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Title(s): 
Cornhusk bag
Culture: 
Native American; Nez Perce
Date: 
19th century
Period: 
Historic
Place: 
Plateau Region, United States of America
Materials/Techniques: 
corn husk, yarn, leather
Dimensions: 
5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm)
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
71.58
Department: 
Not On View

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