All Dolled Up: The Encapsulated Past of Cree Dolls

CATH OBERHOLTZER Trent University

Serendipity often plays a key role in reconstructing social history from the unwritten texts of material culture. In previous research I have drawn upon the tangible evidence of the past as it is encapsulated by the very few extant Cree dolls.1 Significantly, they have provided invaluable compara­ tive documentation of various garments and paraphernalia which existed at certain historic periods, and more significantly, how these items were combined as ensembles. However, any correlation of this information with specific geographic locations for the dolls or for particular comparative garments has continued to be elusive. With one unexpected, but fortuitous, telephone call, a tiny window has opened on the possibility of just such a correlation. In a recent quest to establish a precise geographical location for three very early English dolls dressed in Cree clothing, an American researcher sought my opinion.2 Based solely on her verbal description, which inclu­ ded comparisons with the four other known examples, I could offer only tentative and somewhat vague suggestions. Although I felt that the dolls' clothing must have been made at, or close to, a major coastal trading post, with York Factory, Fort Albany and Moose Factory being likely candi­ dates, there was not sufficient evidence to be more specific. Shortly thereafter, colour photocopies of the front and back views of the male and female figures (but not the baby in the tikanagan) arrived in the mail. While the photographs made it readily apparent that these dolls were indeed remarkably similar both to the pair of dolls held by the Horniman Museum (catalogue numbers 1976.459 and 1976.460) in London and to the other set of two in a private collection (sold at a Christie's auction in London in 1989), I still was unable to offer a more precise location.

1 The term doll used here is intended to encompass the concepts of both plaything and instructional miniature which encourages children's imitation of roles expected of them as adults (cf. Johnson 1983:1, Mooney 1907:51). 2 The dolls are part of the collections held by the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art in Bellevue, Wash. 226 CATH OBERHOLTZER

Figure 1. Miniature Cree family with second replacement baby. Photo­ graph courtesy of the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art. Photograph by Charles Backus. A subsequent article pertaining to these three dolls (Figures 1, 2, 3), written by Susan Hednck, curator of the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, appeared in the doll collectors' magazine Antique Doll World (Hednck 1997). Like all research, it is the unexpected which yields the most, and in this case, the published illustration of the back view of the tikanagan or cradleboard was particularly relevant (Figure 3). Painted red and decorated with a loom-woven band embellished with fringes of unravelled yarn and beads, this miniature cradleboard, with its triangular cutouts in the iconic form of the thunderbird (cf. Light 1972:12), replicates the full-size board (Figure 4) drawn by James Isham at York Factory in the 1740s (Rich 1949:105). This duplication of form and colour of the associated cradle­ board implies, but does not necessarily confirm, that the dolls were outfit­ ted at or near York Factory. Furthermore, as the clothing has been custom fitted to these specific dolls, and as the ensuing discussion of their clothing will reveal, in all probability they do not predate that mid-18th century time period. While precise dating as to when the dolls actually were dressed continues to be highly speculative, it is evident that whoever ALL DOLLED UP 227

Figure 2. Back view of male and female dolls. Photo­ graph courtesy of the Rosalie Whyle Museum of Doll Art. Photograph by Charles Backus. fashioned these diminutive Cree ensembles possessed intimate knowledge of materials, techniques, styles, motifs, and the appropriate combinations of garments and accessories, and was thus someone directly linked with those traditions. Turning to archival paintings for comparative examples, it is evident that although such early artists as Peter Rindisbacher, William Richards, and Robert Hood3 have provided glimpses of various forms of dress, there remains some question as to the authenticity of the combinations of

3 In some instances, including for the same painting (National Archives of Canada C-38951), this artist has also been called "Robin Hood" (cf. Bunyan et al. 1993:71). 228 CATH OBERHOLTZER

Figure 3. Back view of cradle board with firstreplace ­ ment baby. Photograph courtesy of the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art. Photograph by Charles Backus. garments illustrated in their works.4 In a parallel manner, we must also raise concerns about the validity of the dolls' assembled items. However, based on comparisons with the other dolls in this genre, I am accepting the "package" at face value, at least until further information arises. Further comparisons with photographs and actual examples of clothing and paraphernalia in museum collections coupled with written descriptions by early observers and documentary information about the wooden dolls yield

4 Based on close examination of numerous Rindisbacher works, Laura Peers (personal communication, 1994) suggests that several of the accessories appear in more than one situation. ALL DOLLED UP 229 a degree of authenticity to the date and location for the dressing of the dolls by an unidentified Cree woman (or women).

THE ENGLISH DOLLS The miniature mannequins modelling the Cree clothing have been identified as being of English manufacture made during the late Georgian period, circa 1790-1820 (Hedrick 1997:17).5 Certainly these particular peg-jointed wooden dolls with their narrow-waisted and broad-hipped shape reflect the forms typical of that period (cf. Anonymous 1993:93; Campione 1992:76-81; Langley and Dixon 1992:98-100; Whyel and Hedrick 1997:5). These lathe-turned dolls, covered with gesso6 and then painted, their fine-featured faces highlighted with rosy cheeks, red lips, and pupil-less glass eyes, with lashes indicated by a fine elliptical line of tiny painted black dots, further attest to late Georgian origins (Anonymous 1993:93; Whyel and Hedrick 1997:5). Wigs ofhuman hair nailed in place and hands with fingerscarve d like the tines of a fork add further credence to the attributed dates for this Cree couple. Regrettably, the wax-over composition7 baby doll fastened into the accompanying tikanagan is a later replacement of dubious quality, and can be ignored for the present time.8 The original infant was in all probability similar to the gessoed and painted wooden one laced into the tikanagan of the Christie set (Hedrick 1997:20).

THE DOLLS' CREE CLOTHING As the singular example in this genre of dolls, the diminutive male encapsulates the most (Figures 1,2). No other single source has yielded as much information about male clothing of the early 19th century as this doll does. Standing approximately 41 cm tall, this male figure illustrates a well-

5 After examining the Horniman dolls, a doll expert informed the museum that their two dolls were English, daring from the 1770-90 period (Feder 1984:52). The similarities between the two sets evokes questions about the dating. 6 Gesso is ground plaster of Paris prepared as paint. In this instance, the gesso becomes an intermediate layer covering the wood and underlying the paint. 7 A form made of composition (a very strong mixture of wood pulp, paper pulp, or flour and glue) is dipped into melted wax. The resulting surface tends to become crazed and cracked (Sturge 1986). 8 Since my initial discussion of the dolls, the composition doll has been replaced by one deemed to be "more appropriate". Although both these replacements are part of the social history of curated items, both are to be ignored for the present. 230 CATH OBERHOLTZER dressed hunter of the subarctic region. His ensemble consists of a caribou hide coat with painted designs enhanced by quilled and ravelled yam epaulettes, a beaded and fringed belt, a breechclout, thigh-length leggings held in place with loom-woven beaded and fringed garters, and a round- bottomed beaded bag slung across his chest. His feet are shod in high- cuffed moccasins tied firmly around the ankle. Unique are his beaded red cloth "eared" cap, the single elaborate beaded hair cover hanging down the centre of his back to below his waist (Figure 2; partially hidden by hood), and the heavy woolen cloth lining (or undercoat) for his painted hide coat. Consideration of the individual parts of his outfit, and comparison of each with extant examples of full-size items, establishes both parallels and differences. For instance, his hair cover seems to have no parallels as there are no known examples or illustrations with the exception of an 1861 drawing of a Montagnais or Naskapi man in Labrador who appears to have a single, ornamented hair cover hanging down his back.9 In the early written descriptions, no readily available source makes reference to this particular form of ornamentation. For example, James Isham, chief factor at York Factory in the early 1740s, records that it was "only the women, who ties itt [their hair] in Knots & platts itt in Different form's" whereas a man rarely wore "the hair of his head at full Length, some Clipping itt short, others Cutting only one side short and Leaving the other side Long" (Rich 1949:79-80). A few years later, Charles Swaine (Theodorus Swaine Drage), the clerk of the California, wintering over at York Factory during the winter of 1746-47, notes that: Some [men] wear round their Heads Fillets as narrow as tape, made of green or red Worsted, with two Borders of Beads, with which they tie up their Hair and the two Ends of the Fillet hang down upon the left Shoulder... [Drage 1748^19, 1:195; emphasis added] Swaine also observes that the men greased their hair and stuck feathers or bits of fur in it, but does not specifically mention a beaded hair cover. Andrew Graham, Isham's successor, remarks only men "sometimes braiding the hair with a fillet of bead or quillwork" (Williams 1969:146). Whether this fillet (a little band or narrow ornament) was ever wrapped around a single hank of hair to hang down the back is never clearly stated

9 This illustration, which appeared in an 1861 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine (v. 22, p. 759), is credited to Charles Hallock, who was certainly in Labrador during that period (Mailhot 1997:12). The geographic and temporal distan­ ces offer little insight. ALL DOLLED UP 231 in any of the textual descriptions. While this hair cover may represent an individual or local expression, or even the presence of an outsider, the other items of his outfit indisputably confirm the miniature hunter's Cree identity. Conversely, the double-peaked or eared hood with its cloth strip tassels (Figures 1 and 2) has a few precedents in extant examples, artistic depic­ tions and ethnographic accounts. Sometimes referred to as a "Wide Awake", the hood reflects an ancient hunting practice of wearing an animal's head with ears attached, a practice which spans a broad time period and a wide geographical range (Anell 1964:22,24; Regina Flannery, personal communication, 1990; Skinner 1911:15-17; Speck 1940:46; Tanner 1979:141). Illustrations and full-size analogues, however, show less-pronounced projections emanating from the top of the head, and appear more reminiscent of the upright ears of certain animals or owls or possibly even truncated horns.10 Examples from the Red River area include paintings by Peter Rindisbacher, a Swiss immigrant whose 1823 depiction of a buffalo hunt illustrates a mounted Cree wearing a double-peaked hood (Williams 1983:45), and Rev. John West's 1827 journal sketch of his sleigh driver wearing a double-peaked hood (Williams 1983:72). An 1862 water- colour by William Armstrong portrays Scot "John Rae in the dress of a Cree Indian" (Bunyan et al. 1993, frontispiece).Th e white fur "eared hood", elaborated with attachments to the two peaks as well as contrasting fur trim along the bottom edge, may possibly have been acquired by Rae during his posting as surgeon at Moose Factory. Extant museum specimens of eared hoods range from a Maliseet beaded cloth example (New Brunswick Museum, catalogue number 983.47.2.3) to a moire taffeta one enriched with silver lace braiding, silk ribbon and feathers attributed to the Maniwaki area (Canadian Museum of Civilization III-X-270; provenance ascribed in Benndorf and Speyer 1968, fig.40 ) and to a red and navy cloth version possibly from the Plains (Royal Ontario Museum 916.22.1). As well, the male doll of a Cree pair from a later period in the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh (no catalogue number; see Baker 1973, fig.31fo r illustration) is outfitted with a navy cloth eared hood. It should be noted, however, that all the comparative examples are styled with the cloth or fur extending down to at least the shoulders with extensions fastening under the chin. This latter feature contrasts with that of the Rosalie Whyel doll

10 Exaggeration may be a result of working with heavy fabric on a tiny garment. 232 CATH OBERHOLTZER

whose hood extends to the shoulders only on the back panel and with no continuation under the chin. Turning to the doll's coat, the materials, form, motifs and colour choices used to decorate the miniature coat of this wooden hunter reflect aesthetic expressions associated with the Cree people and are remarkably similar to those on full-size hide coats. The inclusion of circle-dot and characteristic wedge-triangle motifs (see Oberholtzer 1994:46-52) incorporated within a composition of elements, especially down the back and across the bottom, replicate those of their larger counterparts. Pigments include red and two shades of green applied on tanned caribou hide. Distinct from the form and designs of the painted coats attributed to the Naskapi of Quebec and Labrador, the relatively straight cut of the coat body and the inclusion of porcupine-quill and ravelled yarn epaulettes place this example within the style observed in northwestern Ontario and northern Manitoba (for illustrated examples see Burnham 1992 and Glenbow Museum 1987). Particularly noteworthy is the navy blue woolen cloth inner coat, carefully cut and stitched to fit under the hide coat, the only example I know of this practice noted by Beatrice Batty (1893:32) for the mid-19th century. Epaulettes of a simplistic geometric design continue a traditional use of porcupine quills, particularly in the technique of wrapping ravelled yarn fringes, and again in wrapping the cut hide fringe on the coat bottom. Thigh-high red trade cloth leggings have gold silk ribbon applied between beaded designs. Belt, bag and garters fashioned from woollen cloth and enhanced with fringes and beading are positioned as one might expect on an adult human hunter. Tucked inside his coat, a button matching those on his wife's robe peeks out just above the hide ties fastened across his chest. Barely visible under the coat, his breechclout is edged and decorated with beads. The rounded bottom of the beaded and fringed bag establishes the presence of this style in the York Factory area in the early 1800s. Caveats to be noted at this juncture, however, are both the tentative nature of the attribution to York Factory and the unresolved problem concerning the dichotomous practices of continued use of known forms and motifs versus the adoption of localized expressions (see Oberholtzer 1996). The hunter's female companion, completely dressed in woollen trade fabric (other than hide moccasin bottoms), sports two beaded hair wraps, a hood, leggings and a fold-over robe covering her wool fabric dress. Of ALL DOLLED UP 233 particular interest are the bib-like beaded chest piece and the bead- and yam-fringed woven porcupme-quill belt around her waist. Decorative silk ribbon applique has been stitched to form geometric designs on her hood, robe and dress. Like her male companion she, too, wears high-top moccasins tied around the ankles. As her clothing is markedly similar to that of the Horniman and Christie dolls, it will be discussed below. Focusing instead on the baby bag attached to the cradleboard, and, in particular, the beaded diamond motif identical to that on the hat, pouch and leggings of the hunter and on the woman's bib, we are confronted with a number of evocative questions. The parallel use of the motif on these items may suggest that these three dolls comprise a "family group" dressed by one woman, or at least under the guidance of one woman. But is this a "normal" use of motifs? That is, can we safely connect the motifs occurring on a woman's items or on a baby's moss bag with those used on her husband's (or father's) things? If this is the case, then we might be able to make associations with scattered items in various collections. And, if— and it is a big "if — the origin of a specific object is known, this could provide a potential link for those items lacking provenance. Conversely, the motif and its repetitive use may be absolutely meaningless without dream associations, and merely an easy design to reproduce. However, two other points need to be made: first,th e motifs on the pouch and leggings have one colour combination while those of the hat, bib and moss bag have another; and second, the designs on the woman's dress sleeves are carefully beaded to create a negative version of the motif. These subtle variations indicate intentional expressive manipulation, an aspect probably meaningful only to the artist and her associates. Last, but not least, can this motif be associated definitively with the York Factory region?

COMPARISONS Turning our attention to the adult female doll (31.5 cm high) and baby doll (23 cm high) sold by auction at Christie's of London in 1989, this second pair displays marked similarities with the above threesome, including the analogous use of trade materials. Apparent differences are a greater elaboration of the woman's hood with beaded rather than ribbon applique ornamentation, the inclusion of cuffed hide mittens sewn with red welted seams and attached to a quilled strap, and bead necklaces resting at her throat above the bib. Noteworthy, too, is the presence of a quill- 234 CATH OBERHOLTZER

decorated protective hoop on the tikanagan. The hoop is further decorated with tassels devised from braided porcupine quills and red ravelled yam threaded through metal tinkler cones, the tassels then fixed to pendant tabs. On both figures, finely stitched wool braid replaces the silk ribbons of the Whyel dolls, again applied in simple geometric patterns. The dresses of both female dolls have been created utilizing the striped list (or selvedge) of the fabric as a decorative bottom of the skirt. Barely visible below the Christie's doll's dress are red stroud leggings decorated with circles out­ lined with beads reminiscent of those enhancing a fringed porcupine-quill and fabric full-size belt illustrated by Katherine Pettipas and Laura Peers (1996:68, fig. 9). As part of the Rev. John West collection, this belt is believed to have originated in northern Manitoba (York Factory?) about 1820. Similar circles also appear on the chest bib of one of the Horniman dolls discussed below. With regard to repeated beaded motifs on the Christie's dolls' garments, comparisons are difficult as a consequence of working solely from photographs. However, the motif formed with four beads and rendered in alternating colours on the cradleboard cover can be considered an elementary diamond shape. The third set of this genre, consisting of two female dolls in the Horniman Museum in London (1976.459,33 cm high, and 1976.460,35 cm high), although considered to be from the same general time period, are clothed with hide garments stitched with smew, adorned with several techniques of porcupine quillwork as well as lines, dots and triangles painted with red and blue pigments. Only the cloth hood and chest bib, and the restricted use of beads, attest to the presence of European trade goods (besides, of course, the dolls themselves). Both dolls wear feminine items but present two distinctly different styles. Both wear separate detachable sleeves, a rectangular chest bib, and loom-woven quill belts tied in the back, although one has bead fringe and the other quill-wrapped skin fringe; a pair of quill-decorated braid tubes; moccasins of the U-vamp type; leggings with the seam to the outside; and garters of two-quill plaiting on skin thongs. Both dresses — one a side-fold, the other with two side seams - have the tops folded down almost to the waist. One doll has a hood and robe; the other has neither. A pouch attached to the belt of the doll without the robe and hood has a panel of netted quillwork. This technique of netted quillwork occurs on a neck ornament, one of the earliest extant pieces collected in the Hudson Bay-James Bay area in the 17th century (for ALL DOLLED UP 235 illustration, see Glenbow Museum 1987:88, fig. 81) and on an 18th-century panel pouch similar to that of the doll (Feest 1987, plate XLIII, 1). When Alexander Mackenzie described Cree women's clothing of the late 18th century, he might well have been describing the clothing of these female dolls: As it [the dress] is very loose, it is enclosed around the waist with a stiff belt, decorated with tassels, and fastened behind. The arms are covered to the wrist, with detached sleeves, which are sewed as far as the bend of the arm; from thence they are drawn up to the neck... The cap, when they wear one, consists of a certain quantity of leather or cloth, sewed at one end... The upper garment is a robe like that worn by the men. [Lamb 1970:133] Certainly, the four female dolls wear dresses each tied at the waist with quillwork and fringed belts similar to the one in the Rev. John West collec­ tion mentioned above. Similar full-size early belts exist in museums in Canada, England, Germany, and elsewhere. Important are the side-fold dresses of three of the dolls which are typical of the style worn until the early 1800s (see Feder 1984 for description and discussion). However, the association of the two-seam dress of the fourth female doll with the others remains enigmatic. As Feder (1984:52) suggests, this may have repre­ sented regional and/or seasonal variations and/or age distinctions, or alternatively, may be indicative of a later style which the maker(s) may have wished to demonstrate along with the style worn earlier. As well, one doll from each set wears a rectangular hood, variously decorated with silk ribbon and/or beads either singly or in combination. In comparison with full-size ribbon-decorated hoods, all hoods worn by dolls have simplified design elements, a factor consistent with miniaturized reproduction. Certainly hoods worn by both men and women received notice by several of the early European recorders. While the one doll lacks a hood, there is a possibility that it has been lost during the intervening years, as virtually every early female doll collected from the Cree wears a hood. The presence of robes on the three models (Figures 1,2) adds immeasurably to our understanding of Cree ensembles. A few ethnohistoric sources such as Mackenzie noted that for women "The upper garment is a robe like that worn by the men" (Lamb 1970:133). It was later replaced by trade blankets, for as Batty (1893:33) observes, in the mid-18th century "Their whole costume... like that of the men, is almost hid from sight by a thick blanket, without which the Indian seldom ventures abroad." The retention of the robe on these dolls raises questions about the current belief that 236 CATH OBERHOLTZER

Figure 4. Cradle board York Factory region. Redrawn by author from sketch by James Isham (Rich 1949:105). painted robes were the property of shamans and used in the caribou hunt (cf. Brasser 1974:96, Webber 1983). Obvious on the dolls' cloth robes are the unfinished edges suggesting one or more of the following explanations: (1) it is indicative of past methods of handling hide, a natural material which does not unravel as does cloth; (2) it demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the properties of cloth (i.e., that it does ravel); or (3) haste was a factor. The last possibility may also explain the rather coarse stitching of the silk ribbon on the Whyel doll's clothing.

CRADLEBOARDS It is, however, the tikanagans which appear to provide the best evidence for provenance. Echoing James Isham's drawing (Figure 4), made during his stay in York Factory, is a white cedar model cradleboard ALL DOLLED UP 237 collected by John Potts while working for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and associated with James Isham. Now housed in the British Museum (S1.2040, length 38 cm; King 1982:33), its form is repeated in the Rosalie Whyel example (Figure 3), the miniature one from Christie's sale, one in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh (UC302, length 43 cm), and another in the British Museum (Christy Collection 2573, length 22.5 cm). These five miniature tikanagans may be all that were made, but I feel strongly that they really represent only the tip of the iceberg, a small per­ centage which have survived the years. If the output was indeed greater, it implies active production. Certainly York Factory, as one of the major centres for movement into and out of the interior, played a significant role in the fur trade. Many of the HBC officers stationed there established links with native families through their "country" wives. Indeed, certain pas­ sages in the York Fort journal for the fall of 1800 demonstrate that by then women were also making substantial economic contributions to the post"... [for] by November of that year, they had made '650 pairs of Leather Shoes' as well as snowshoes for the traders" (Brown 1980:66). While these items were destined for local use, the industriousness of the Cree women allows for speculation that an active tourist enterprise may very well have existed in the region (see also Adams 1982:38-41 for evidence of beadwork). If so, this leads to a number of further questions about the source of the dolls, both as imported and dressed objects.

POSSIBLE SOURCES OF DOLLS Who imported these dolls? When were they imported? Why were they imported? Who dressed them? Who were the intended recipients? Were they intended as instructional items for young Cree girls or, conversely, for young British girls? Were they made as specific presentation pieces for important visitors? Were they gifts sent back to British relatives? Or were they merely made anonymously for the tourist trade? By what means did they arrive in Britain? Enormous gaps exist between the titbits of written information, such as the gap between a letter dated 22 May 1690 to Governor Geyer at Port Nelson (York Factory) which states that "Wee [of the HBC] have sent a Jointed Babie to stand in your Roome in view of the Indians, [and] send us word how the Indians are affected with it or whether they fancie such 238 CATH OBERHOLTZER

Toyes" (Rich 1957:102-3) and James Cotter's 1885 request for "6 dressed dolls" to be sent to Moose Factory (Archives of Ontario, MS 287). Drawing upon Hudson's Bay Company's records closer to the time frame of the Whyel dolls, the servants' commissions for the period 1787-1887 (HBCA A. 16/111-3), a tantalizing order is George Sutherland's 1798 request for "a few trifles for children from 2 to 5 Yrs old" (HBCA A. 16/111, fo. 46). Given that the wooden dolls under discussion were more often considered to be miniature mannequins to display particular styles and seldom playthings even among their wealthy owners (Whyel and Hedrick 1997:2), it is not likely that they would be considered suitable for two- to five-year- olds. The one specific request for two dolls occurs in the 1805 account of William Flett of York Factory. While Flett ordered "2 dolls about 2/ each", the total cost of the dolls amounted to eight shillings (HBCA A. 16/112, fo. 35); no description of the dolls is given. Identified as a pilot in 1805, Flett's biography lists him more precisely as a labourer and steersman between 1783 and 1809 working at York Factory and "Inland" (HBCA A.16/33, fo. 661; A.16/34, fo. 61, 145; A.30/3-10). Born circa 1762, Flett was married to "Saskatchewan", who was baptised as "Isabella" on 19 April 1825 (HBCA A.36/6, fo. 130; E.4/la, fo. 55)." There are no orders for European sewing materials attributed to Flett prior to his request for the dolls. In 1807, however, he ordered "6 yds second cloth dark blue, 12 yds calico of 2 patterns, 40 yds Ribbon various patterns, 1/4 lb Cochineal, 1/4 lb sewing silk of colors [sic], 2 pr scissors mid size" (HBCA A. 16/112, fo. 61). His subsequent order in 1809 for "40 yds of ribbon, 4 oz silk sewing, 2 prs small scissors, gun toy" (HBCA A. 16/112, fo. 80) suggests that Flett was supplying someone — possibly his wife — with materials which could be used, among other things, for the dressing of dolls. As the servants' commissions do not specify the suppliers of goods received, we must turn to the evidence recorded in the account books for merchandise exported from England during the 1800-12 period (HBCA A.25/4). Noteworthy are the suppliers W. & C. Child (variously, Wm. & C. Child and Wm. & Coles Child) identified as "Toymen". In 1801, this company exported toys to Albany. In 1802, 1804, 1806, and 1810, equivalent lots were sent to both Albany and York. For the years 1805,

'' As there is no marriage date, and as Flett worked on the Saskatchewan River after 1809, there is a remote possibility that the name "Saskatchewan" was a refe­ rence to this woman's origins rather than a given name. ALL DOLLED UP 239

1807, 1808, and 1809, toys were shipped to Albany, York and Churchill, with the largest lots being sent to York (HBCA A.25/4). A strong probabil­ ity exists that the 1805 shipment included the two dolls ordered by William Flett of York Factory. No shipments of toys were made in 1811 or 1812, the final two years recorded in that particular register. Unfortunately, there are no descriptions of the actual items forwarded by this firm of toymen, and we are left to speculate whether or not these toys may have indeed included wooden dolls. During the firstdecad e of the 19th century, several other HBC men at Albany and York are recorded as having ordered such sewing items as fabrics, thread, needles, and scissors as well as quantities of ribbons. At York Factory, for example, Mr. Howse (1799), James Sutherland the second (1799,1803), William Snoulten (1803), and George Flett (1810) all sent orders for these and related items. Greater trade in these items took place at Albany with Robert Goodwin consistently ordering enormous quantities in each of the years from 1800 to 1804 while he was second in command at Albany. Smaller orders were placed by James Short (1803, 1809), John Sanderson (1802,1809) and others (HBCA A. 16/111-3). If any of the dolls from this early period were dressed in Albany, these men may well have been associated with the woman or women who dressed them. Certainly, the sophistication of these early dolls is a far cry from the sticks and roughly carved wooden dolls which were loved as babies by young Cree girls (Beardy and Coutts 1996:49, 51; Flannery 1995:14; Jenness 1972:272-3; Mooney 1907:51) and the jigging dolls which grandfathers made to amuse the youngsters mere decades ago (Ipswich Museum 1966.1.900, Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature H4.1.169). Unlike the stereotypical imagery created for contemporary tourism (Hirschfelder 1982:145), these dolls were dressed by native Cree women to provide miniature teaching aids to instruct children and non-natives about Cree identity, Cree life and Cree history. Pride in this heritage is evident in the attention given to detail in these dolls, a diligence tradition­ ally practised by the Cree whenever an object was intended to make a clear connection between the play of a child and the work of an adult (McQuiston and McQuiston 1995:14). As a form of self-representation, these beautifully dressed dolls were particularly attractive for cross-cultural exchange, whether as presentation pieces, gifts for relatives of non-native husbands, or commercial sales. Being small and portable in addition to aesthetically pleasing, the dolls would have been well-received by their 240 CATH OBERHOLTZER recipients (cf. Phillips 1989:52). The quest to provide provenances for these dolls continues, and at this point there is no conclusion. For me, the excitement rests in the minutiae of details and in fortuitous small discoveries. It is always fun when another piece is added to the puzzle. Although I would like to feel smug in my identification of these dolls — based on the miniature tikanagan form — as originating from the York Factory region, there is always the overriding caveat that much is speculative. Nevertheless, by carefully replicating tra­ ditional clothing in dressing these dolls, these earlier Cree women have documented their native voice.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research could never have been done without the inspiration provided by Vilma Matchette, who firstintroduce d me to these dolls during her research for the publication World colors: dolls and dress (Hedrick and Matchette 1997). Continuing support and the sharing of information was provided by Susan Hedrick, curator of the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art and co-author of World colors: dolls and dress. Equally important was the invaluable assistance of Judith Hudson Beattie of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives who repeatedly and graciously responded to my innumerable requests. My gratitude is unbounded. Despite the solid facts of their input, any controversial interpretations are my own.

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