Native Art of the Eastern Woodlands Indians

Groups such as the Cherokee and Iroquois produced decorated pottery and baskets, quill work and bead work, birch bark utensils, plaited sashes and carved wood ritual masks.

The Adena and Hopewell, are renowned for their elaborate grave offerings including copper plates and ear spools.

Objects were also made of, mica, silver, meteoric iron, shell and pearl beads, and ceramic vessels and figurines.

The Iroquois turned to the forest for most of his artistic endeavors to create a corpus of mask designs representing mythological beings.

The famous “ball-headed club” is a true work of art; beautifully formed and balanced this is only one of a variety of club designs favored by the Woodlands warrior.

Colourful contrast was obtained by the inlaying of small bits of shell and shell beads.

This interest in making the most of natural resources is demonstrated in leather work, for not only did they apply a variety of substances to the surface of the hide, but also dyed the material itself.

One art unique to this area is the use of porcupine and bird quills to achieve strong design motifs.

These were dyed and softened for attachment to the surface of hide objects.

Often combined with shell or, later, trade beads, these gave the costumes and implements of the Plains and Woodlands Indian great color contrast.

Indeed, the magnificent visual effects achieved by the Eastern Woodlands aboriginal artists must be seen in the field to be best valued; early travelers into North America were impressed by their costumes, concerning which they wrote in great detail.

Motifs are distinctly different from other areas and as this was the first to be occupied by Europeans little of the arts remain, or are practised to any extent today.

Another unusual material frequently used for decorative purposes is elm bark.

This was used in the manufacture of containers in which the surface was scraped away to reveal a contrasting under-layer.

These Eastern Woodland people had a unique style of art and a greater civilisation than most of the rest of the word realises.

The technique is found throughout the East and North, extending up into Labrador and Newfoundland, and carries over from smaller objects to the great bark canoes of the North east.

An early art was the use of shell beads applied to leather hides and textiles; later, as the White man brought glass beads and trade cloth, a similar technique was favored, resulting in much the same effect.

The scroll work belt is just such an example, and the introduction of silk ribbons by settlers allowed the production of such colorful garments.

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