Thursday 26 May 2011

Moose Were Important to the Mi'kmaq


This Moose hide hangs in the Captain's quarters at Habitation.
The Mi'kmaq depended on moose.
There are none around here now.
When deer were introduced from New England, the moose moved to Cape Breton.
Apparently deer and moose can not live side by side.


Handsome fellow!


Don't you love this interpretation of what could be
 herons, Canada geese or perhaps cormorants.


They had a use for every single part of the moose.
These would be of special interest to us stitchers.
The awl carved from bone or cartilage
and claws from a bear or a wild cat
were used to punch holes in hides and tree bark.
Their thread would be sinews from the moose
or sweet grass picked from the bits of land we have sprinkled amid our lakes!

4 comments:

  1. Interesting what you say about moose and deer - diplomatic relations must have changed over the years cause we have a good community of both living here! I wonder if for some reason their inability to live side by side has anything to do with location.... curious.

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  2. We occasionally see images down here of mooses (meese?)running amok in townships. It seems quite out of this world and i worry about the moose/s. They are magnificent creatures.

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  3. Beautiful! But the hooked ings are not teeth, but claws... Can't tell what from just the pic though. I am having serious envy of the awl!

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  4. Deer carry a disease that kills moose

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Thank you for taking the time to comment, your thoughts are most welcome.