2001-2001: First Peoples Hall
(borrowed from the McCord Museum)
This ground-breaking exhibition traces the story of Iroquois beadwork from pre-contact times through the present. Displays explore the meaning of distinctive motifs and show how beadwork is made. Visitors can learn about the innovative style of beadwork developed by the Iroquois during the mid-nineteenth century. Built upon traditional Iroquois designs and popular non-Native Victorian fashions, beadworkers created a novel array of elaborated beaded “souvenirs” aimed specifically at tourist markets throughout the Northeast. Across Borders takes visitors on a journey of discovery – an exploration of how the art of placing thousands of tiny glass beads on fabric is intimately linked to the identity and survival of Iroquois people.
Organized and circulated by the McCord Museum, Montreal and the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University, N.Y., in collaboration with the Kanien'kehaka Onkwawén:na Raotitiohkwa, Kahnawake, the Tuscarora Nation community bead workers of New York State, and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.