Women's Work, Women's Art: Nineteenth-Century Northern Athapaskan Clothing: Volume 68 Judy Thompson 9780773541597

Garments made from tanned animal hides afforded Northern Athapaskans protection against a harsh northern environment, but the striking features of this clothing are also a distinctive part of the traditional culture of the Indigenous peoples of North America's western subarctic. Beautifully decorated with quillwork, fringes, and pigments, they provide a means of artistic expression signifying ethnic identity and conveying information about the physical, social, and spiritual well-being of the wearer. Women's Work, Women's Art, the culmination of over forty years of research, is the first comprehensive study of this little-known aspect of Athapaskan culture. Encompassing all Northern Athapaskan groups, it chronicles a period that saw significant change in Aboriginal culture and the persistence of ancient traditions among the women who made and adorned this clothing. Individual chapters address the various roles and functions of clothing in Athapaskan societies, the technology of clothing production and design, and characteristic regional styles. Bringing together information from the writings of traders, explorers, missionaries, Athapaskan oral traditions, and community interviews with a wealth of visual materials - from rare early sketches to twentieth century photographs - Women's Work, Women's Art is an engaging and definitive study of Athapaskan clothing and culture.

A richly illustrated study of the dress and adornment traditions of the Indigenous peoples of North America's western subarctic

About the Author
Judy Thompson recently retired as curator of western subarctic ethnology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. She is the author of several publications on Northern Athapaskan material culture and artistic traditions.

Reviews
"There is nothing remotely like this authoritative and definitive work. The combination of detailed garment research with historical and ethnographic data informed by community-based research, makes Women's Work, Women's Art a model which surpasses anything to date. It will be a standard reference work for curators, material culture and native studies scholars, and members of Athapaskan communities." Laura Peers, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford "There are few publications on Northern Athapaskan clothing and none that cover the subject in such breadth and detail, showcasing the skills and knowledge of the makers - the women. Women's Work, Women's Art will make these museum collections more access "Comprehensive but straightforward, Women's Work, Women's Art is an exciting resource for a range of scholars and an interesting, engaging read for the layperson." Worn Through



Book Information
ISBN 9780773541597
Author Judy Thompson
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint McGill-Queen's University Press
Publisher McGill-Queen's University Press
Series McGill-Queen's Native and Northern Series