This bag is very similar to the Oberlin bag and probably nearly as old. Sturdy in construction, tightly woven to keep out dust, and naturally resistant to insects, bags like this stayed in use for many years as the repair adjacent to a large scorch…
Handbags like this are still considered standard personal accessories for Plateau women today. Highly individual in their decorative treatment, they are used on special occasions and are explicit assertions of Indian identity.
Possibly a handbag for a child’s doll, or a personal accessory that a senior woman might pin on her dress like a brooch, miniature bags have always been made as a way to demonstrate the weaver’s skill. This bag was made by a Yakama weaver named Lena…
"Flat bags were used for harvesting, gathering, and storing processed roots, berries and other plant materials. Plain twining of Indian hemp, warp and cotton weft with false embroidery of dyed and undyed cornhusk were used as the external weft. The…
From the April 29, 2002 Elyria Chronicle Telegram, Linda Grimm is pictured handing the bag from Oberlin's collection over to Lynnette Pinkham of the Nez Perce tribe; text above image reads: "A Long Strange Trip;" image caption reads: "Dan…