Haida Clothing
"Besides the regular lip-piece ornaments, various in shape and material, of shell, bone, wood, or metal, are worn stuck in the lips, nose, and ears, apparently according to the caprice…
From: 1874 C.E. To: 1874 C.E.
Location: Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
The Haidas have no methods of distortion peculiar to themselves by which they seek to improve their fine physique; but the custom of flattening the head in infancy obtains in some of the southern nations of this family, as the Hailtzas and Bellacoolas, and the Thlinkeet lip-piece, already sufficiently described, is in use throughout a larger part of the whole territory...
...These ornaments, made of either wood, bone, or metal, are worn particularly large in Queen Charlotte Islands, where they seem to be not a mark of rank, but to be worn in common by all the women.
Besides the regular lip-piece ornaments, various in shape and material, of shell, bone, wood, or metal, are worn stuck in the lips, nose, and ears, apparently according to the caprice or taste of the wearer, the skin being sometimes, though more rarely, tattooed to correspond. Both for ornament and as a protection against the weather, the skin is covered with a thick coat of paint, a black polish being a full dress uniform. Figures of birds and beasts, and a coat of grease are added in preparation for a feast, with fine down of duck or goose—a stylish coat of tar and feathers—sprinkled over the body as an extra attraction.
When the severity of the weather makes additional protection desirable, a blanket, formerly woven by themselves from dog's hair, and stained in varied colors, but now mostly procured from Europeans, is thrown loosely over the shoulders.
Chiefs, especially in times of feasting, wear richer robes of skins. The styles of dress and ornament adopted around the forts from contact with the whites need not, be described. Among the more unusual articles that have been noticed by travellers are, "a large hat, resembling the top of a small parasol, made of the twisted fibres of the roots of trees, with an aperture in the inside, at the broader end" for the head, worn by a Sebassa chief; and at Millbank Sound, “masks set with seals' whiskers and feathers, which expand like a fan," with secret springs to open the mouth and eyes.
Mackenzie and Vancouver, who were among: the earliest visitors to this region, found fringed robes of bark-fibre, ornamented with fur and colored threads. A circular mat, with an opening in the centre for the head, was worn as a protection from the rain; and war garments consisted of several thicknesses of the strongest hides procurable, sometimes strengthened bv strips of wood on the inside.
Bancroft, Hubert Howe. Native Races of the Pacific States. Vol. 1, Appleton, 1874.
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