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#1 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
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We were at the Indiana State Museum today and found this Blackfoot Native American knife made of trade steel, bone, trade brass, and tacks with beaded leather sheath. This was made at the end of the 19th century.
Enjoy. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Centerville, Kansas
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Jose, That is truly one of the nicest knives of that culture that I have seen. Thanks you for posting it here as Native American Indian artifacts unfortunately not seen here as often as you would think they would be.
Best, Robert |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
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Thank you for sharing! Very nice dagger! And agree with Robert, sadly we see them here not often enough.
Regards, Detlef |
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#4 | |
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Join Date: May 2014
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#5 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: What is still UK
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Very interesting and much appreciated posting.
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#6 |
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Could I request some clarification?
What law have the collectors broken to justify the "SWAT style raids" ? I don't know the situation in America or Canada, but in Britain there is no law to prevent anybody owning Native American artefacts of any type or age. The only exception I can think of would be items that incorporate fragments of endangered species (covered by CITES legislation) and even then I understand that an offence would be committed only if you tried to import or trade in the items. And yes, I agree the dagger is a very nice piece of work. |
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#7 | |
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Join Date: May 2014
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http://www.indystar.com/story/news/c...-home/7210675/ One of the big issues is possession of objects covered by things like NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act). In some cases, chain of custody from a Native American creator to a modern owner is unimportant, it still is considered to be property of a Native American tribal group (a legal body), and the object does not need to have come from a grave, have been looted, stolen or otherwise taken unethically from any Native American. There have been cases in the US of museums being forced to return objects purchased from natives by a staff anthropologist in the early 20th century. Much like one could buy keris in Java or Bali, as people lost interest in them and offered them for sale. Please understand that I went to college to study archaeology and so from that and other perspectives, I don't want the property violation and data loss that comes from unauthorized excavation which is certainly a form of theft. And the keeping of Native American bones when a claimant has asked for their return is also a violation. But the idea that a whole collection could be seized simply because some bureaucrat was not satisfied with the provenance of every piece is also a violation. Its a complicated issue and if you are still curious there is a lot to look for on line, but this to me is state sponsored theft and thats why I would not mention such artifacts being in my possession. US law enforcement has become rather heavy handed of late, and the courts very willing to back up all kinds of silliness. |
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#8 |
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I would point out that in the early 20th century many Native People were systematically stripped of resources, land, oil (think of all those dead Osages) etc. while being forced in to a market economy. There may have been other reasons than lack of interest for heirlooms to pass out of families.
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#9 |
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Many Americans of European descent were also systematically stripped of their homes and farms and all of their possessions in the early 20th century ; it was called the "Great Depression."
Last edited by drac2k; 4th August 2014 at 05:40 AM. |
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#10 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
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To focus back on this knife, I posted this since it has some provenance, an age, and a tribal affiliation. I thought it was an interesting piece. If it weren't for the information and bead work, I would never have known it was Blackfoot. In form it reminds me of "trade daggers" made for the Native American market in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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#11 |
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The knife does take the form of a much earlier period. You could wonder at what response it would stir if being sold with no information on ebay. The questions of condition and brightness of the brass elements could be off putting? It is a very nice piece. These links help show that not all genuine pieces have to look old.
http://furtradetomahawks.tripod.com/id4.html http://furtradetomahawks.tripod.com/id45.html |
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#12 |
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Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
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my family is in part Blackfoot.
i put all this ownership stuff down to our lack of adequate early border patrols, letting in all those illegal immigrants from europe, asia, and africa. p.s. - granny wants her knife back. ![]() Last edited by kronckew; 4th August 2014 at 10:18 AM. |
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#13 | |
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#14 | |
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p.s. - granny doesn't really want her knife back ![]() |
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