Portrait of Caroline G. Parker (Jiconsaseh; Seneca, Wolf clan, 1826-1892), 1849

Hand-colored daguerreotype, approx. 5 x 3 in. Rochester Museum of Science and Culture
Caroline Parker was a descendent of the great orator and Seneca chief, Sagoyewatha (Red Jacket), and from a prominent family of the Tonawanda Seneca. She was given the honorary name Jiconsaseh (Mother of Nations) after the historic ancestor who accompanied the Peacemaker in enacting the Great Law of Peace.

Parker was renowned for maintaining traditional Haudenosaunee beadwork and its accompanying symbolism. In the portrait, she is wearing a traditional Seneca outfit of her own making, which incorporates the Celestial Tree of Light motif at the hem of the skirt and Heavenly Ladder and Sky Dome imagery. These garments are preserved at the New York State Museum in Albany, NY.

Beaded purse, 19th century, Haudenosaunee, Silk, trade beads

Brooches, 19th century, Seneca, Silver Rock Foundation Collection

Portrait of Three Seneca Women, 1852
Thomas Jacobs (Seneca Nation)
Watercolor on paper
Rock Foundation Collection

The 1852 painting by Thomas Jacobs also demonstrates traditional Seneca women's costumes, replete with symbolic imagery. The Earth Dome is represented in the hem of the skirt, the Heavenly Ladder is seen in the silver brooches decorating the front, and the Sky Dome is part of the collar.

(Top Left)
Panther effigy pipe, Seneca, ca. 1650-65
Clay with traces of copper inlays.
In the Haudenosaunee creation story, the first entity Awe(n)ha'i' (Sky Woman) encounters a panther, Ga'ha'syendiet'ha (Fire Dragon), who takes the form of a comet that encircles her as she falls. The pipe once had copper inlays to portray the panther's gleaming, reflective eyes.

(Bottom left)
Miniature mortar & pestle, late 19th century, Seneca, Wood
Rochester Museum of Science & Culture, WPA Indian Arts Project Collection

(Center left)
Twin panther effigy comb, ca. 1650-65 Seneca
Carved antler

Sky Woman, 1936, Ernest Smith (Tonawanda Seneca, Heron Clan, 1907-1975), Photographic reproduction
Rochester Museum of Science and Culture, WPA Indian Arts Project Collection

This painting illustrates the "Sky Woman" legend, the foundational Creation story for Haudenosaunee peoples. In one of many variations of the story, Sky Woman's husband, De'haon hwendjiawa'khon (He-Earthholder), dreams that the Celestial Tree, which provides light to the Sky World, is uprooted. Sky Woman, called Awe(n)ha'i' (Mature Blossoms), falls through the hole created by the uprooted tree. As she falls, the first being she encounters is Ga'ha'syendiet'ha (the Fire Dragon, also known as the Comet), in the form of a flying panther, who comes to aid her, and brings the first gift of a mortar and pestle. The panther instructs the water birds to catch her, and bring her gently down to rest on Hanyadengona (the Great Turtle). Through the efforts of Awe(n)hai, whose dancing spreads dirt gathered by the Hanoghye (Muskrat) on his back, Hanyadengona grows to become Turtle Island, now generally referred to as North America.

Waterbird vessel with lid, ca. 1980s, Darlene Smith, Mohawk, Ceramic
Heard Museum Collection

String of wampum beads, са. 1650-1665, Seneca, Quahoag shell
Rock Foundation Collection

String of wampum beads, ca. early 1600s, Haudenosaunee, Quahoag shell
Heard Museum Collection

(left)
Sky Woman, Joe Greene (Mohawk)
Soapstone
Rock Foundation Collection

(foreground)
Mother of Nations pipe, ca. 1650-65, Seneca
Clay
Rock Foundation Collection

(center)
Pottery patterning tool, ca. 1650-1665, Seneca
Antler
Rock Foundation Collection

(right)
Clay cooking vessel, ca. 1650-65, Seneca, Earthenware
Rock Foundation Collection, 11/177

Clay pots represent the continuity of tradition and family, and the caretaking of matrilineal knowledge. The locations of Seneca villages largely depended upon the decisions of elder women, who knew from experience if a place contained adequate clays for making pots, as they were responsible for the supply of food. The knowledge of clay, pottery making, which wood would make good fire and the firing itself was passed down through the matrilineal line, communicated only through women. This insured that the entire family was valued, and all members could rely on each other for the communal support required to sustain the village.

The humble pottery was central to ceremonial life — it holds ceremonial food heated over fires at the center of the Longhouse. The central fires represent spiritual life and the Nation itself, while the clay pot within the fire represents the life of the people and their enjoyment of the Creator's gifts on Turtle Island.

Balance Between Good and Evil, 1984,
G. Peter Jemison (Seneca, Snipe clan),
Mixed media on paper Heard Museum Collection

This painting portrays Hanyadengona (the Great Turtle), the foundation of the Earth in Haudenosaunee knowledge. Celestial Tree, the source of light in the Sky World, on his back may reflect the concept of Orenda, the spiritual force that flows through all things. It is flanked by a lizard and a butterfly, which may symbolize the twin creator brothers, Taöyawa'göh (Earth Grasper) and Sawiskä: (Flint).

The Creator gave ceremonies that celebrate agriculture, healing, and thanksgiving to balance good with evil, and to honor the Karionake (Celestial Beings), who inhabit the heavens above the Sky Dome and the waters below Hanyadengona. Radiating lines surround him, indicating the presence of spiritual life. Jemison may have used this kind of line, a traditional Seneca design many centuries old, to suggest genealogical harmony.

Ellam Yua, 1995, Chuna McIntyre (Central Yup'ik), b. 1955, Batik fabric
Private collection

This painting represents Ellam Yua, the human manifestation of the spiritual universe. It contains many of the ancient motifs seen throughout the arts of Arctic and sub-Arctic cultures: its earrings mimic the "circle-dot" design that indicates the four cardinal directions, which are also eyes and spiritual thresholds through which entities pass. The mask-like yua face follows traditional mask design, with concentric ellanguaq hoops indicating knowledge and awareness of the outer universe. Beyond them appears the stars and the heavens. Labrets and forehead decorations indicate wisdom and sacred knowledge.

I did not find an explanation of the items in this photo. However, the item on the left appears to be a canoe paddle, nicely crafted out of fine wood.

The item on the right appears to be a head covering to be used in the wintertime to ward off the cold winds.

Photo by Chuna McIntyre, 1985, of his grandmother at age eighty-five wearing a fur hood called a yuraryaraq ("one you don on"). Her English name was Minnie Carter and in Yup'ik she was named Augilnguq ("bloodless one"), born in an ancient place near the village of Quinhagak, Alaska.

The fur hood appears to be similar to the one in the previous photo.

Atkug Yaqulelek (Bird parka), ca. 1950s, Yup'ik, maker not recorded, Eek, Alaska
Alpa (murre) skins and feathers, and Kegluneq (wolf) fur
Private collection

Yup'ik parkas made from the skins of birds, mainly water fowl such as alpat (murres), were constructed in combination with other animal furs (this one is trimmed with kegluneq — wolf fur). Such bird parkas were rare even in pre-contact times, and their traditional use eclipsed in the early 20th century. Still, this late version follows the traditional Yup'ik construction and color scheme of black and white, colors symbolic of the outer universe, of the visible and invisible celestial entities. The triangular shapes at the bottom trim make reference to snow-covered mountains.