Collections
One of the pieces in the Museum's Collections is this basket that has a notorious story that goes with it. This is a traditional free-form Seneca basket (no form was used to make it) made with ash splints. It has a carved wooden handle. Ms. Nancy (Pierce) Bowen, who lived on the Seneca Nation of Indians' Cattaraugus Territory, completed it and gave it to Clinton Rickard, a Tuscarora lawyer, who intervened on her behalf during her murder trial in Buffalo in the early 1930s.
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The basket shows signs of early deterioration with some broken splints, as well as some water damage on the bottom. Recently, we were notified that the Institute for Museum and Library Services awarded us a $3000 grant to help with the conservation of this basket, as well as one brought to the Cattaraugus Territory from Buffalo Creek, following the Buffalo Creek Treaty of 1842. Stay tuned, as we track the progress of this work and tell you more about the stories behind the baskets themselves.
Seneca Beadwork
This example of a Parker-style bag incorporates the mulit-row border, as well as the trilobe and scroll motifs found on earlier Seneca beadwork pieces. The 8-point centraol motif on the back could be a flower or a star. There is no evidence of a beaded edge. The beadwork is done on black velvet and edged in red satin. There is a green satin, single strand handle. This purse is from the SINM Fenstermaker Collection.
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Seneca Star-Flower Bag