 About
Porcupine Quill Work
Porcupine quill
work is one of the oldest, and fastest disappearing, traditional Native American
art forms. The Great Lakes and Plains Indians lived in the range of the porcupine
and utilized the quills to decorate moccasins, sheaths, baskets, pipe stems and
more. A porcupine was not sacrificed to obtain the quills, instead the women of
the tribe would throw a blanket over an unsuspecting porcupine who would release
the quills as a defense and leave them in the blanket. The
quills are cleaned and dyed with plant origin colors such as buffalo berry for
red, sunflower or cone flower for yellow, and wild grapes for black. Once dry,
they are oiled so they wouldn't become brittle and shatter when sewing them. Beading
began replacing quillwork in the early 1800s and today there are only a few artists
that carry on the traditionof working with porcupine quills. |
