Dolls as Ambassadors of Native Culture
Neetôpáwees (nee-top-a-wees) is the Pequot word for “little friends.” Join the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center on a journey of discovery to learn
why our neetôpáwees are called ambassadors of culture. The historical and contemporary dolls show some of the important roles that dolls have played in Native North American tribal communities for a very long time.
While most of our dolls come from Eastern Woodlands cultures, others are from a wide range of North American tribes. One has traveled all the way from St. David’s Island, Bermuda – learn why this doll is so important to Pequot history.
The earliest dolls found in North America represented a spiritual power in healing and ceremonies. These dolls are often called medicine dolls, and because they are considered sacred, they are not included in this exhibit. Over time, some dolls took on the role of guardians and protectors.
Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (Mohegan) shared this story about her uncle, Harold Tantaquidgeon and his guardian dolls, which he carved out of wood.
“Harold was always very concerned with protecting the Tantaquidgeon Museum in a spiritual and physical sense. He took his job of protecting the museum with guardian dolls and other forms of protection very seriously. These dolls are not play things, his dolls are not toys for children, his dolls were much more serious and they were dolls with a job to do.”
Other dolls performed different roles. They were given as gifts, sold as souvenirs, and offered as toys. Sparking imaginative play, the dolls allowed young people to act out the skills needed in the adult world.
Gifts are frequently exchanged when tribes visit each other. Gift giving serves as an important way to show respect and reinforce social relationships, but most importantly, it is a way for Native people to honor one another. As gifts, dolls act as little “ambassadors” from one tribe to another.
17th century warfare between New England Native people and colonists devastated Native communities. While many Native people were killed, others survived and some, including Pequots, were sold as slaves to faraway British colonies like Bermuda. For centuries the people of St. David’s Island, Bermuda, remembered stories about their Native American ancestors. Recently they reconnected with the Native people who share their heritage and history. In 2002, St. David’s Island Bermudians and Native people of New England came together for the First Reconnection Ceremony. This doll and several other gifts were presented to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe as part of the ceremony.
Details
Title: Banana Leaf Doll
Creator: Ronnie Chameau
Date: 2002
Location: Bermudan of St. David’s Island
Physical Dimensions: Banana leaf, coconut palm leaves, feathers, shells, stones, beads, cotton, wool
Provenance: Gift of St. David’s Island Indian Committee, Bermuda
Ema Delaronde, mother of professional Native American wrestler Chief Don Eagle, made and sold her dolls, including ones that she fashioned after her son, at his wrestling matches and at powwows.
Details
Title: Doll, Mohawk
Creator: Ema Delaronde
Date: 1900/1950
Location: Mohawk
Physical Dimensions: Composition includes head and arms, cotton, leather, beads, paint
Provenance: Chief Don Eagle gave this doll to James F. King, founder of the former Somers Indian Museum in Somers, CT. It was then given to Mary Ann Maruzo, owner of the Young at Heart Doll Shop in Ledyard, CT, who generously gave it to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum.
This model canoe with its accompanying dolls and accessories was the product of French Canadian nuns and Abenaki or Huron converts working together in a thriving cottage industry in Montreal and Quebec. Many of the items they made were sent back to Europe either as gifts to Catholic churches in France or to fill the curio cabinets of Europe’s elite.
Details
Title: Canoe Model with Dolls
Date: 1780/1820
Location: Canada
Physical Dimensions: Birchbark, wax, wool cloth, cotton, silk, wood, paint, cotton thread, wool yarn, glass beads, metal pins, pine pitch, spruce root, moose hair, cotton string, sheet metal, sequins, leather, metal buttons.
Provenance: Eastern Canada
This handsome marionette, handcrafted by Buddy Big Mountain (Mohawk/Comanche) and his wife Diana who painted the shield, is dressed in the regalia of a traditional powwow dancer. Given to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in 1999, it honors Buddy and Diana’s wedding, which was held at the tribe’s annual Schemitzun Green Corn Festival in 1993.
“We wanted to share our celebration…and to say thank you to Skip Hayward, Wayne Reels, and Michael Goodwin for their hospitality and…to all who witnessed the moment of our happiness. He is a warrior dancer, who we call The Protector. His birth name is Hayward-Reels-Goodwin. He was designed after the powwow poster of traditional dancer Wayne Reels.”
– Diana Big Mountain
Buddy Big Mountain, a multi-talented performer, has appeared at many tribal events at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center and Schemitzun.
Details
Title: Hayward Reels Goodwin Marionette
Creator: Buddy Big Mountain (Mohawk/Comanche) and his wife Diana Big Mountain
Date: 1990/1999
Location: Mashantucket, Connecticut
In 1998, representatives from the Hoopa Valley tribe of California came to Mashantucket. One of the gifts they brought was this doll dressed in traditional Hoopa Brush Dance regalia. The Brush Dance is traditionally done by young, pure, Hoopa women.
Details
Title: Doll, Hoopa Brush Dance regalia
Creator: Sarah Carpenter
Date: 1997
Location: Native American, Hoopa
Physical Dimensions: Plastic, mink, dentalia shell, glass, buckskin, abalone shell, pine nut, plant fibers
Provenance: Gift of the Hoopa Valley Tribe
In 1999, the Museum wrote to tribes across the United States asking for Christmas tree ornaments for the Tree of Nations. Several tribes sent dolls to represent their nation. Every December the decorated tree is displayed in the Gathering Space.
Details
Title: Tree of Nations
Date: 2011
Location: Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
Provenance: Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
Tree of Nations: Video, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, 2011, From the collection of: The Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
The Tree of Nations is on view every December at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center.
Details
Title: Cornhusk Doll, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
Creator: Larry Daylight
Date: 2010
Location: Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
Physical Dimensions: Cornhusk, wool, cotton, ribbon, leather
Provenance: Gift of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
Gift of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
Details
Title: Palmetto Doll, Miccosukee
Creator: Miccosukee
Date: 2010
Location: Native American, Miccosukee (Florida)
Physical Dimensions: Palmetto fiber, cotton, yarn
Provenance: Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
Gift of the Three Affiliated Tribes-Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara.
Details
Title: Sakakawea Doll
Date: 1999
Location: Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara
Physical Dimensions: Beads, leather, buttons, yarn, metal
Provenance: Three Affiliated Tribes-Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara
Gift of the Colorado River Indians.
Details
Title: Doll Ornaments
Creator: Jessica Yazzie
Date: 1999
Location: Colorado River Indians
Physical Dimensions: Leather, plastic, cotton, beads
Provenance: Colorado River Indians
Details
Title: Spanish Moss Dolls
Creator: Mrs. Marie Dean
Date: 1999
Location: Houma
Physical Dimensions: Spanish moss, buttons
Provenance: Gift of the United Houma Nation
Gift of the Makah Indian Nation.
Details
Title: Doll, Makah
Creator: Theresa Parker
Date: 1999
Location: Makah
Physical Dimensions: Cedar
Provenance: Makah Indian Nation
Gift of the Tinoqui-Chalola Council of Kitanemuk & Yowlumne Tejon Indians.
Details
Title: Doll, Kitanemuk & Yowlumne Tejon
Creator: Delia “Dee” Dominguez
Date: 1999
Location: Kitanemuk & Yowlumne Tejon
Physical Dimensions: Cloth, yarn, thread, abalone, plant material
Provenance: Tinoqui-Chalola Council of Kitanemuk & Yowlumne Tejon Indians
Gift of the Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico.
Details
Title: Doll Ornament
Date: 1999
Location: Seonia (Jemez Pueblo)
Physical Dimensions: Clay, paint
Provenance: Gift of the Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico
Native American doll makers have a long tradition of using materials gathered from the natural world. Many of these materials are used for other activities, from food and clothing to houses.
For example, people use birch bark for containers, canoes, and housing. Corn is grown for food and the husks woven into mats and containers; palmetto leaves are woven into baskets and used as roofing. What dolls are made of tells us much about the natural resources available to the creators.”
Details
Title: Cornhusk Doll, Seneca
Date: 1900/1925
Location: Seneca, Cattaraugus Reservation
Physical Dimensions: Cornhusks, cotton cloth, thread, leather, glass beads
Her dress is made from smoked and brain-tanned hide. This method of tanning is a traditional Native American way to soften and preserve hide with animal brains and smoke.
Details
Title: Doll, Great Lakes
Date: 1800/1900
Location: Great Lakes
Physical Dimensions: Deer or moose hide, wood
Details
Title: Palmetto Doll, Seminole
Date: 1950/1960
Location: Seminole
The Houma people of Louisiana have made dolls from Spanish moss for a long time. To process the moss, artist Janie Verret Luster explains, “The old way of (curing the Spanish moss) was to put it in the Bayou … taking away the air supply it would start to die and then after … two or three weeks … submerged in the water, you would take it out and put it on the banks of the Bayou in a good sunny location and the sun would dry (it) … that grey would eventually fall off … it takes anywhere from … six to nine months … for it to turn completely black.”
Details
Title: Adeline
Creator: Mary Verret & Janie M. Verret Luster
Date: 1980/1990
Location: Houma
Physical Dimensions: Spanish moss, cotton, embroidery thread
Provenance: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jack Campisi
Details
Title: Paul
Creator: Mary Verret & Janie M. Verret Luster
Date: 1980/1990
Location: Houma
Physical Dimensions: Spanish moss, palmetto, cotton, embroidery thread
Provenance: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jack Campisi
Gift of the Colorado River Indians.
Details
Title: Josephine
Creator: Mary Verret & Janie M. Verret Luster
Date: 1980/1990
Location: Houma
Physical Dimensions: Spanish moss, cotton, embroidery thread
Provenance: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jack Campisi
Details
Title: Marie Jeannie
Creator: Mary Verret & Janie M. Verret Luster
Date: 1980/1990
Location: Houma
Physical Dimensions: Spanish moss, cotton, embroidery thread
Provenance: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jack Campisi
Details
Title: Pierre Cherie
Creator: Mary Verret & Janie M. Verret Luster
Date: 1980/1990
Location: Houma
Physical Dimensions: Spanish moss, palmetto, cotton, embroidery thread
Provenance: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jack Campisi
Details
Title: Pauline
Creator: Mary Verret & Janie M. Verret Luster
Date: 1980/1990
Location: Houma
Physical Dimensions: Spanish moss, cotton, embroidery thread
Provenance: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jack Campisi
Most Native doll makers dress their creations in traditional clothing –clothing they are familiar with and that reflect their culture. Every part of the clothing is made in miniature detail, from the use of Native tanned hides and wool trade cloth to intricate bead and porcupine quill embroidery. Sometimes, small versions of everyday items such as bags, pouches, jewelry, hunting tools, and cradleboards accompany the dolls.
When Innu families moved camp, everyone had a job to do, even the smallest child. Dolls were made and filled with tea for children to carry during the move. When the group needed tea, the doll would be opened and some tea was taken out. When the doll was empty, moss was put inside so the child could still play with it. The tea doll communicates one example of Innu cultural values – each community member does their part for all to succeed.
Details
Title: Tea Doll
Creator: Yvonne Bégin
Date: 1997
Location: Innu
Physical Dimensions: Wool felt, cotton flannel, yarn, glass beads, leather, cotton embroidery thread
Lezley did not begin making dolls just to make dolls. She created regalia for Native people and decided to do what European clothing designers did long ago – they made fully dressed dolls to model their latest fashions which could then be copied. After extensive research, Lezley made 23 different dolls showing variations in traditional tribal regalia for her customers to see and choose from.
Details
Title: Salteaux Woman
Creator: Lezley Two Bears (Eastern Cherokee/Connecticut River Indian/Innu)
Date: 1999/1999
Physical Dimensions: Cotton/polyester cloth, thread, shells, copper, suede, ribbon, fringe.
Details
Title: Iroquois Woman Doll
Creator: Lynn Antaya (Micmac)
Date: 1999/1999
Location: Iroquois
Physical Dimensions: Beads, cotton, thread, velvet, leather.
This Dene family of dolls is wearing traditional northern style clothing, made from smoked, brain-tanned moose hide and decorated with porcupine quills. The quills are dyed, flattened, and stitched on to the clothing.
Details
Title: Dene Doll with Baby
Creator: Sarah Hardisty
Date: 1997/1997
Location: Dene
Physical Dimensions: Moose hide, caribou hide, quills, cloth, horsehair, dye.
Provenance: Dene
Details
Title: Dene Doll
Creator: Sarah Hardisty
Date: 1997/1997
Location: Dene
Physical Dimensions: Moose hide, caribou hide, quills, cloth, horsehair, dye.
Provenance: Dene
This doll is wearing a headdress called a roach made from deer hair dyed red and tied in small bunches to a cord base. Roaches are worn by men from the east coast to the Great Plains.
Details
Title: Doll, c. 1900
Date: 1900/1900
Location: Great Lakes
Physical Dimensions: Canvas cloth, beads, wool, deer hair, leather, dye.
Provenance: Great Lakes
This doll wears a type of dress that has been made in the Northern Great Lakes for hundreds of years. It is made from a single hide with straps over the shoulders and has separate sleeves that can be removed when the women were warm or working.
Details
Title: Ojibwa Doll
Date: 1870/1900
Location: Northern Great Lakes
Physical Dimensions: Deerskin, wool, glass beads, silk ribbon.
Provenance: Ojibwa
Details
Title: Cornhusk Doll, 1990s
Creator: Debbie Doxtator (Bay of Plenty Mohawk from the Grand Territory)
Date: 1990/2000
Location: Bay of Plenty Mohawk from the Grand Territory
Physical Dimensions: Wood, yarn, cornhusk, beads, metal, cloth, thread, leather, wool.
Her dress is decorated with silk ribbon cut into various shapes and stitched in layers – a technique frequently called ribbon work which has a long history among Eastern Woodlands people.
Details
Title: Doll, late 19th to early 20th c.
Date: 1880/1920
Location: Potawatomi
Physical Dimensions: Cotton, wool, silk.
Provenance: Potawatomi
This doll is wearing clothing that was popular among the Huron of Canada during the 19th century. The woman wears a cloth shirt with an attached cape and a peaked hood and skirt made from wool, with large metal broaches pinned to the front of her clothing. The man has on a cloth trade shirt, with a wool sash and metal armbands. He has large metal broaches pinned to the front of his clothing.
Details
Title: Huron Doll, Woman
Date: 1840/1870
Location: Canada
Physical Dimensions: Wood, cotton and wool cloth, yarn, feathers, paint, metal, cotton thread, leather.
Provenance: Huron
Details
Title: Huron Doll, Man
Date: 1840/1870
Location: Canada
Physical Dimensions: Wood, cotton and wool cloth, yarn, feathers, paint, metal, cotton thread, leather.
Provenance: Huron
Stories are everywhere – even dolls have stories to tell. Some tell ancient stories of Creation while others honor important community members from the past and present. Still other dolls have stories that pass on wisdom and traditions. Through dolls we learn and remember important lessons and people.
“When Matavilya created the heaven and earth, he also created the Mojave using a mixture of the earth such as the desert clay, sand, decomposed granite, and water. Matavilya told the Mojaves ‘you will be my chosen people and I will call you, Pipa Aha Macav’ meaning the people who live along the water. When a Mojave potter creates such a doll it is the image of the Mojave and Matavilya.”
– Norge Betty Barrackman
Details
Title: The Mojave Doll
Creator: Norge Betty Barrackman (Mojave)
Date: 1997
Location: Mojave
Physical Dimensions: Clay, beads, cloth, yarn, hair, paint
Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (Mohegan) shared this story about her uncle, Harold Tantaquidgeon and his guardian dolls, which he carved out of wood.
Molly Molasses (Penobscot) was born around 1775. She lived during a time of great change and hardship for the Penobscot people as their land and traditional lives were altered by the booming timber industry. Molly’s nickname “Molasses” came from a play on the Penobscot pronunciation of her last name. Ironically, some say a lifetime of hardship made Molly bitter and far from “sweet.” Some called her a witch; others acknowledged her as a powerful medicine woman. In any case, she was respected by all and feared by some. She continues to be a powerful symbol of Penobscot traditional ways and survival. Penobscot artists such as Jason Brown and Ruth Francis honor Molly through their art.
Details
Title: Molly Molasses (Mary Pelagie)
Creator: Ruth Francis (Penobscot)
Date: 2010
Location: Penobscot
Physical Dimensions: Cloth, beads, aluminum, yarn, nylon
Doll makers take inspiration from the world around them, often posing their dolls in ways that reflect Native cultural traditions. Some dolls show activities, including hunting, fishing, trapping, and preparing meals. Other dolls celebrate the importance of music and dance in Native lives. Our dolls reflect important cultural activities that make us who we are as Native people.
She is using a traditional mortar and pestle to pound dried corn into cornmeal.
Details
Title: Cornhusk Doll, Mohawk
Creator: Ken Skye
Date: 1997
Location: Mohawk
Physical Dimensions: Wood, calico cloth, cotton cloth, beads
Denise’s work is frequently inspired by what she sees at Powwows.
“I would like people to see the love and peace in my dolls and feel the sense of pride of the Native American heritage.”
– Denise A. Lowe-Williams
Details
Title: “Men’s Eastern Traditional” Doll
Creator: Denise A. Lowe-Williams “Strong Feather”
Date: 2011
Location: Narragansett
Physical Dimensions: Cotton, leather, wood, bone, metal, synthetic material, beads, feather
This doll is holding a miniature splint gathering basket and has a cradleboard on her back.
Details
Title: Cornhusk Doll, Oneida
Creator: Tina Chrisjohn-Wyant
Date: 1998
Location: Oneida
Physical Dimensions: Black bear fur, wire, cornhusk, pine, oak, brain- tanned leather, ash basket, seed beads, heshi buttons
Ken Skye made many corn husk dolls showing different aspects of traditional Native life. This doll could be dancing the Eastern War dance.
Details
Title: Dancing Cornhusk Doll, Mohawk
Creator: Ken Skye
Date: 1997
Location: Mohawk
Physical Dimensions: Cornhusk, calico cloth, cotton cloth, seed beads, yarn, deerskin, wood, paint
Pequot Museum Educational Powwow, 2013, From the collection of: The Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
Many tribes have stories about why some dolls are made with no faces. The stories vary but all have important lessons.
Some Native people believe that dolls without faces encourage children to imagine all sorts of possibilities. Other lessons include to not judge others by our differences but appreciate our similarities, and to teach about the dangers of vanity and forgetting your responsibilities
Details
Title: Cornhusk Doll, Onondaga
Date: 1900/1925
Location: Onondaga
Physical Dimensions: Corn husks, white, grey, and black cotton cloth, grey ribbed cotton cloth, cotton thread, and glass beads
The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) have different stories around the lesson of vanity.
One is that the cornhusk doll was created in order to bring happiness to the children. Everywhere she went the people told her how beautiful she was. The cornhusk doll began spending too much time admiring her reflection in the still waters of ponds and puddles. She spent so much time gazing at her face that she forgot about her primary duty – to bring happiness to the children, and this angered the Creator. She did not heed the warnings of the Creator to stop admiring herself and so her face was taken away.
“My sculptures are inspired by Iroquois legends…the small dolls I create are a clay version of a no-face doll, which is traditionally made out of cornhusk and is used to teach children not to be vain.”
– Jessica Wyant
Details
Title: Clay No-Face Doll
Creator: Jessica Wyant
Date: 2003
Location: Oneida
Physical Dimensions: Red earthenware clay, black slip, feathers
