Miniaturisation: a Study of a Material Culture Practice Among the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest
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Miniaturisation: a study of a material culture practice among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest John William Davy Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), through a Collaborative Doctoral Award partnership with The British Museum. Submitted December, 2016 Corrected May, 2017 94,297 words Declaration I, John William Davy, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where material has been derived from other sources I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. John William Davy, December 2016 i ii Table of Contents Abstract 1 Introduction 3 Research questions 4 Thesis structure 6 Chapter 1: Theoretical frameworks 9 Theories of miniaturisation 13 Semiotics of miniaturisation 17 Elements of miniaturisation 21 Mimesis 22 Scaling 27 Simplification 31 Miniatures in circulation 34 Authenticity and Northwest Coast art 37 Summary 42 Chapter 2: Methodology 43 Museum ethnography 44 Documentary research 51 Indigenous ethnography 53 Assessment of fieldwork 64 Summary 73 Chapter 3: The Northwest Coast 75 History 75 Peoples 81 Social structures 84 Environment 86 iii Material Culture 90 Material culture typologies 95 Summary 104 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and process: Miniaturisation among the Makah 105 The Makah 107 Whaling 109 Nineteenth-century miniaturisation 113 Commercial imperatives 117 Cultural continuity and the Makah 121 Analysing Makah miniatures 123 Miniatures as pedagogical and communicative actors 129 Chapter 5: The Haida string: Miniaturisation among the Northern peoples 131 Cosmology and power in early miniatures 133 The books of knowledge 136 Staking a claim: the Sandeman canoe miniature 140 Charles Edenshaw and the modern Haida artist 143 The miniature village of Skidegate 146 Satire: expressing ideology through art 151 Louis Shotridge: Miniaturisation and the museum 155 Bill Reid and the Haida string 156 Miniatures as ideology and continuity 160 iv Chapter 6: Idiot sticks and tiny dancers: Kwakwaka’wakw resilience through miniaturisation 165 The Kwakwaka’wakw 167 Halliday and the Cranmer potlatch 168 Charlie James’s idiot sticks 171 Commerce and pedagogy 177 Gordon Scow and the tiny Hamat’sa 179 Miniaturisation as cultural resilience 187 Chapter 7: Small foundations: ownership of space with the Tulalip Tribes 189 Tulalip: Maximising resources 191 Tulalip totem poles 198 The Tulalip canoe 208 Miniaturisation and Tulalip identity 213 Chapter 8: Analysis of technique and status 215 Fidelity and proportionality 217 Materiality 227 Ceremony and inspiration 233 Miniature as diorama 246 Praxis and pedagogy 251 Understanding the process of miniaturisation 260 Chapter 9: Miniature realities 263 Studying affordances 264 Reconsidering prototypes 266 Decoding miniatures 267 v Identifying audience 269 Emic audiences 271 Etic audiences 273 A model of miniaturisation 276 Research answers 278 Gigantures 283 Global miniaturisation 285 Appendices Appendix A: Museum database fieldwork parameters 289 Appendix B: Ethics 295 Appendix C 1: Categorisation of canoe designs 298 2: Categorisation of house designs 306 3: Categorisation of totem poles 309 4. Categorisation of figures 310 Appendix D: Mimetic canoe miniature typology 314 Glossary 358 Bibliography 371 vi List of figures Maps Map. 1. The Northwest Coast region © Google Maps. Map. 2. The Northwest Coast region with fieldsites highlighted © Google Maps. Map. 3. Northern Olympic Peninsula & Makah territories © Google Maps. Map. 4. Cape Flattery & the Makah Reservation © Google Maps. Map. 5. The Northern Northwest Coast © Google Maps. Map. 6. Haida Gwaii © Google Maps. Map. 7. Central British Columbia. Kwakwaka’wakw territories © Google Maps. Map. 8. Northern Seattle suburbs. Tulalip is west of Marysville. © Google Maps. Map. 9. Tulalip Reservation. © Google Maps. Chapter 1 Fig. 1.1. Tlingit fish-club. BM Am1898,1020.24. Fig. 1.2. Billboard in Broadway Market. London. Author’s photo, 2013. Fig. 1.3. Athletic Awards. Republican Street, Seattle. Author’s photo, 2014. Fig. 1.4. La trahison des images, René Magritte, 1929. Figs. 1.5. The author with BM Am,+.229, 2016. Fig. 1.6. The author with BM Am1985,Q.266, 2016. Fig. 1.7. Cod-Lure. Sculpture presented to author by Mike Gobin. Author’s photo, 2016. Fig. 1.8. Storage for “Modern/Trade Carvings” at the British Museum. Author’s photo, 2013. Chapter 2 Fig. 2.1. Table of British Museum Northwest Coast miniatures by mimetic frequency. Fig. 2.2. Tables of British Museum Northwest Coast miniatures by mimetic culture-history analysis. Fig. 2.3. Table of Northwest Coast canoe miniature seriations. Fig. 2.4. Bar graph of Northwest Coast canoe miniature seriations. Fig. 2.5. Table of House miniature seriations. Fig. 2.6. Pie chart of Northwest Coast house miniature seriations. vii Chapter 3 Fig. 3.1. Comparison of ring density in pine joists. Author’s photo, Seattle, 2014. Fig. 3.2. Felled trees in Haida Gwaii. Author’s photo, 2015. Fig. 3.3. Overgrown, century-old stumps near Alert Bay. Author’s photo, 2015. Fig. 3.4. The author atop a cedar stump on Spibida Beach, Tulalip. Author’s photo, 2014 Fig. 3.5. Ovoid template. Collection of Richard Bahnmann, 2015. Fig. 3.6. Haida cedar chest. BM Am1954,05.1178. Fig. 3.7. Salish face design. Tulalip Tribes Art Manufacturing Center, 2015. Fig. 3.8. Table of selected descriptions of Northwest Coast canoe designs. Fig. 3.9. Suttles’ canoe typology (1990i:8). Fig. 3.10. A View of the Habitations in Nootka Sound, John Weber, 1787. State Library of New South Wales. Fig. 3.11. House at Neah Bay, Edward Curtis, 1915. Chapter 4 Figs. 4.1. Makah canoe miniature, MCRC 93.IV.39 (Ozette Collection). Figs. 4.2. Makah canoe miniature bow section, MCRC 10.V.184 (Ozette Collection). Fig. 4.3. Clayoquot chieftain’s hat, c.1795. BM Am,NWC.6. Fig 4.4. Extent of historic whale hunting on the Northwest Coast (Losey & Yang, 2007). Fig. 4.5. Charles White harpooning a whale, c.1920. Uni. of Washington Libraries Digital Archive, 54519. Fig. 4.6. Makah canoe miniature, RCBM 6600. Fig. 4.7. Makah canoe miniature, 1880s. NMNH E-23305-0 (Swan Collection). Fig. 4.8. Makah canoe miniature, 1880s. NMNH E-23306-0 (Swan Collection). Fig. 4.9. Makah canoe miniature, 1880s. MV 1225-6 (Swan Collection). Fig. 4.10. Makah canoe miniature, 1926. BMNH 2013-190/2. Fig. 4.11. Makah canoe miniature, 1880s. NMNH E73740-0 (Swan Collection). Fig. 4.12. Makah canoe miniature, 1880s, NMNH E72936-0 (Swan Collection). Fig. 4.13. Makah canoe miniature, c.1920s. BNMH 1989-98/7 (Topping Collection). Fig. 4.14. Makah canoe miniature, c. 1920s. NMAI 204085 (Heye Collection). Fig. 4.15. Makah canoe miniature, c.1910s. SAM 91.24. Fig. 4.16. Makah canoe miniature, c.1904, Young Doctor, NMAI 068874. viii Fig. 4.17. Young Doctor with canoe miniature, Neah Bay, c. 1904, Washington State Historical Society. Fig. 4.18. Alex McCarty miniature canoe on sale at the MCRC. Author’s photo, 2015. Fig. 4.19. Alex McCarty demonstrating carving techniques, Evergreen State College. Author’s photo, 2015. Chapter 5 Fig. 5.1. There came to us a canoe, Mark R. Myers. Fig. 5.2. Miniature head canoe collected on Malaspina’s expedition, 1791. NM 21 540. Fig. 5.3. Miniature head canoe collected on Malaspina’s expedition, 1791. MdA 13896. Fig. 5.4. Head canoe design on bentwood bowl, RBCM 16441. Fig. 5.5. Miniature head canoe with spirit figures, KK 2520-2. Fig. 5.6. Bill Reid illustration for Raven’s Cry, depicting small pox arriving at Haida Gwaii. Fig. 5.7. Johnny Kit Elswa, 1886 (Smithsonian, 4117). Fig. 5.8. Miniature head canoe. BM Am,+.228 (Sandeman Coll.). Fig. 5.9. Miniature head canoe. BM Am1976,03.3 (Inverarity Coll.). Fig. 5.10. Figurehead from miniature head canoe. BM Am,+.228. BM Am,+.213. Fig. 5.11. Miniature Munka style canoe, attributed to Charles Edenshaw, NMS L.304.109. Fig. 5.12. Argillite plate with mythical canoe scene, attributed to Charles Edenshaw SAM 91.1.127. Fig. 5.13. Pair of silver bracelets with frog crests, attributed to Charles Edenshaw BM Am1985,03.1. Fig. 5.14. Skidegate miniature village (Chicago Historical Society ICHI-30461). Fig. 5.15. Skidegate village. George Dawson, 1878. National Museums of Canada 225. Fig. 5.16. Howkan, Kaigani Haida community, Alaska, 1897. Alaska State Library, 87-0050. Fig. 5.17. Port Essington, Tsimshian trading post, Skeena River, c.1900. RBCM PN 15102. Fig. 5.18. Detail of figures on interior of FM 17802. Fig. 5.19 Detail of figures on interior of FM 17822. Fig. 5.20. Detail of modern replica of Seward Pole. Saxman Native Village, Alaska. Fig. 5.21. Satirical Haida argillite pipe. BM Am1837,0408.1. Fig. 5.22. Satirical Haida argillite figure. BM Am9392 (Christy Coll.) Fig. 5.23. Satirical Haida argillite figure. BM Am1954,05.1000 (Wellcome Coll.) Fig. 5.24. Miniature village of Kluckwan, Louis Shotridge. © Robert Preucel (2015). Fig. 5.26. Bill Reid’s tiny tea set, c.1932. Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. ix Fig. 5.27. Bill Reid’s paper house model, c.1960. MoA A8251. Chapter 6 Fig. 6.1. Full-sized totem pole, Charlie James, c.1930s. U’mista Cultural Centre. Fig. 6.2. Miniature totem pole, Charlie James, c.1930s. U’mista Cultural Centre. Fig. 6.3. “World’s smallest totem pole” with Dave Neel, 1954. Fig. 6.4. Canoe miniature diorama, Mungo Martin, c.1950s. MOA A4259. Fig. 6.5. Canoe miniature diorama, Mungo Martin, c.1950s. U’mista Cultural Centre. Fig. 6.6. Hamat’sa mask, Willie Seaweed, c.1920. MoA A7992. Fig. 6.7. Hamat’sa dance figurines, Gordon Scow, c.1960. U’mista Cultural Centre. Fig. 6.8. Hamat’sa dance figurines, Gordon Scow, c.1960. U’mista Cultural Centre. Fig. 6.9. Unfinished head from Hamat’sa dance figurine, Gordon Scow, c.1960.