The Hat that Changed the Native Aerican World – FESCH.TV

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Bruce Experiences: A Special Evening with the Curator: The Hat that Changed the Native American World

t is remarkable that Native cultures have been resolute and resilient enough to withstand the political, social, economic, and geographical upheaval that happened just prior to the political, social, economic, and geographical upheaval that was unleashed by the European fur trade designed to create the beaver fur hat.

Guest Curator and former Bruce Museum Registrar, Kirsten J. Reinhardt will discuss how significant droughts and then the market for the beaver fur hat, a fashion accessory popular in Europe and North America for three hundred years, was the direct catalysts for momentous cultural and geographic changes to the lifeways of the Native Nations of North America. Through maps, excerpts from personal correspondence, and images of objects in the Bruce Collection, Ms. Reinhardt will trace the changes and the challenges faced by diverse tribes and how their determination to remain resolute insured their ultimate survival. A key aspect of the story is the way in which these select objects came to be in the stewardship of the Bruce Museum. We will discuss recently identified Native artists and the scientists, soldiers, and social debs who collected Native Nations art and thus preserved it for future generations. Ample time for questions and discussion will ensure this presentation will be interactive and personal.

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