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Crafting the Canadian Quilt

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Dance Apron

Curated Submission
Place
British Columbia, Canada
Date
Circa 1970
DIMENSIONS in centimetres
70 x 62
Materials & techniques
Cotton, metal; Appliquéd, hand-sewn
Credit
Gift of Max Allen
ID
Textile Museum of Canada T04.30.1
The Northwest Coast First Nations ceremonial aprons decorated with pendant rattles are still made and used today. White buttons secure the thunderbird crest to this ceremonial dance apron. Bells and thimbles are used as noisemakers, replacing customary shells and puffin bills. According to Northwest Coast mythology, the thunderbird creates thunder and lightning – thunder by flapping its wings, and lightning by opening and closing its eyes.
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Square ceremonial dance apron with white buttons that secure a red thunderbird crest on black background and bells and thimbles as decorative noisemakers.
Photo: Textile Museum of Canada T04.30.1
Traditional brown dance apron made from moose skin, with porcupine quill, metal, deer hoof noisemakers.
Dance apron, Kwakwaka’wakw, Gwa’sala, from Takus, Smith Inlet, British Columbia, made from moose skin, porcupine quill, metal, deer hoof, and fibre. Photo: Photo by Kyla Bailey, courtesy University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada #A6477
Three men wearing traditional dance coloured aprons performing on stage at a Coastal First Nations Dance Festival.
Members of Le-La-La Dancers Society, a traditional Kwakwaka’wakw dance company, performing at the We Yah Hani Nah Coastal First Nations Dance Festival. Photo: Image courtesy of Le-La-La Dancers Society
 
           

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