Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion, art, science, food, and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. Let’s look at some Colville Indian cradleboards.
One of the distinguishing features of American Indians in many parts of North America was the use of cradleboards for infants. Cradleboards allowed infants to be carried easily and safely. They also allowed the mother’s hands to be free for other tasks.
Shown above is a cradleboard. This was made about 1890. This is on display in the Lake Chelan Historical Society Museum in Chelan, Washington.
In his Encyclopedia of North American Indians, Frederick Hoxie writes:
“Psychologically, a baby in a cradleboard feels safe and secure; he or she is swaddled and held close to the mother. Cradleboards are objects of beauty and are a personal expression of the maker. Depending on the tribe, they can be decorated with beadwork, quillwork, weaving, woodwork, and/or ribbon and cloth designs. Cradleboards may also be decorated or designed with sacred symbols, colors, or objects to bring good life and luck to the child.”
In the Plateau Culture Area, babies were generally placed in cradleboards soon after birth. A line attached to both sides of the upper end of the cradleboard allowed the the infant to be carried on the back or, when on horseback, on the pommel of a saddle. When the mother was working, the cradleboard could be hung in a tree where it could gently sway with the wind.
With regard to the Northern Okanagan, Lakes, and Colville tribes, Dorothy Kennedy and Randal Bouchard, in their chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, report:
“For the first few months, a child spent most hours fastened to a cradleboard.”
Depending on tribal traditions, an infant might use the cradleboard for just a few months or until two or three years of age. Among many of the tribes, cradleboards would be decorated with beads and were regarded as heirlooms to be used for several generations. In other tribes, a new cradleboard was made for each child and then discarded when no longer needed.
Shown above is a cradle board made by Bernadine Phillips (Colville Reservation). This was on display in the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington.
In some tribes, there were no differences between the cradleboards used for boys and those used for girls, while in other tribes there were some slight differences. With regard to the Middle Columbian Salishans, Jay Miller, in his chapter in Handbook of North American Indians, reports:
“Slight differences marked male or female cradleboards and bindings, in addition to the kinds of dangles hung from the protecting head loop. For a boy, the penis was exposed, while a girl had a buckskin fold between her legs to allow urine to run off.”
Shown above is a cradle board made by Bernadine Phillips (Colville Reservation). This was on display in the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington.
Shown above is a cradleboard with a leather doll made in 1870. This is on display in the Lake Chelan Historical Society Museum in Chelan, Washington.
Photographs
The Lake Chelan Historical Society Museum in Chelan, Washington includes some historic photographs showing Colville Indian cradleboards.
Shown above is a Wapato woman and child in 1904.
Shown above is “Awake”, a Wapato boy in 1900.
Shown above is Annie of the Wenatchee Band.
Shown above is Mary Moses and granddaughter Nelly.
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