Documentation and common sense.
Aug 26, 2013 17:33:22 GMT -7
Post by Pare on Aug 26, 2013 17:33:22 GMT -7
Like most of you, I use common sense for what I do. I also use my imagination for what I feel would be appropriate for wear and to carry. But, I have a hard time documenting things concerning Seminoles due to the lack of it. This area is still pretty dense and sparsely populated, just like it was in 1836. At that time we had no Agent assigned to us and travelers coming through were unheard of. Anyhow, the weather was completely different here in I.T. as opposed to Florida and there is no documentation on Seminoles wearing a capote, blanket leggings or any other cold weather clothing, with the exception of military great coats. So, am I supposed to dress as we did in Florida? Not hardly. Common sense tells me different when the chill sets in.
Take food for instance; not only did we grow corn, but we grew rice, pumpkin, etc. which is described by travelers and Indian agents (after 1840), even though there's no proof we ate it. But you can bet we did. It goes without saying. Right? Just because there is no source citing something, doesn't mean it wasn't done. I believe some things were so common that it wasn't documented. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those "if they'da had it" guys, but I believe common sense was used.
As for my bag, I used a beaver hide, which is my clan and made it like our twined or wool beaded bags, with a triangular flap. The pouches I use for ball & shot are diamond and triangle-shaped, which reflects designs on pottery, twined bags, bead work, etc.. Are these pouches documented? Nope. But those shapes have meaning to us and is the logical reason why I made them that way.
A 4-page inventory list from Chouteau's post and some vague descriptions are basically all I have to work with.
Pare-
Take food for instance; not only did we grow corn, but we grew rice, pumpkin, etc. which is described by travelers and Indian agents (after 1840), even though there's no proof we ate it. But you can bet we did. It goes without saying. Right? Just because there is no source citing something, doesn't mean it wasn't done. I believe some things were so common that it wasn't documented. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those "if they'da had it" guys, but I believe common sense was used.
As for my bag, I used a beaver hide, which is my clan and made it like our twined or wool beaded bags, with a triangular flap. The pouches I use for ball & shot are diamond and triangle-shaped, which reflects designs on pottery, twined bags, bead work, etc.. Are these pouches documented? Nope. But those shapes have meaning to us and is the logical reason why I made them that way.
A 4-page inventory list from Chouteau's post and some vague descriptions are basically all I have to work with.
Pare-