« A pouch, apparently made from a whole loon skin, is in such poor condition that its form cannot be determined with certainty. It is roughly rectangular in shape but narrows toward the opening which is edged with red cotton tape. There is a narrow flap and a shoulder strap of tanned moose skin. ...

« An improvised pipe made from a piece of rolled birch bark tied with a short section of rawhide line is an important implement in bear hunting (fig. 9h). After an animal is killed, the hunters gather about it and smoke. Out of respect, the bear is also given a smoke with a pipe like this one (Sp...

« A rectangular birch bark case of unknown use is sewn with twine at intervals on two sides and has a loop of the same material at the open end. It is decorated on both sides with identical floral designs (fig. 9m). » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from th...

« The mouth is closed by a wooden plug (fig. 5i). A grease container made from the bladder sac of an otter was for cold bear grease that hunters carried with them to add to their food. The drinking of animal grease was also believed to induce dreaming and was thus an important element in the prac...

« Shorter, lighter versions of this spear were used for taking beaver and the collection contains the shaft of a model beaver spear; the point is missing. The shaft is round and 60.2 cm in length with a slit in the distal end into which the point would have been fitted. Narrow creases in the wood...

« The manufacture of woven hare skin blankets by Indians of the Mistassini and Lake St. John bands is described in detail by Speck (1930, pp. 451-454), Lips (1947, pp. 42, 44), and Rogers (1967, p. 64, fig. 8, p. 40). Speck (1930, p. 454) notes that 100 skins were required for a blanket, while Ro...

« The consulting of oracles so as to determine where and when to hunt and to know the future with reference to the weather, illness, and personal matters was extremely important to the Lake St. John Montagnais. It is a subject that has been discussed in considerable detail by Speck (1935, pp. 138...

« The consulting of oracles so as to determine where and when to hunt and to know the future with reference to the weather, illness, and personal matters was extremely important to the Lake St. John Montagnais. It is a subject that has been discussed in considerable detail by Speck (1935, pp. 138...