Minneapolis Institute of Art

Cradleboard

Kahnawake (Mohawk) artist

Date

c.1850–80

Medium

Wood, pigment, string

Culture

Kahnawake Mohawk

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Kahnawake (Mohawk) of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) create cradleboards from large planks of wood to which they attach protective bows that go over the child's head. Some examples have footrests to provide additional support. The backs are decorated with elaborate painted carvings. In the 17th century, the Kahnawake lived in an area surrounded by French-Canadian settlers, whose folk art influenced traditional Kahnawake art. Some scholars believe that the carving of some cradleboards was created by French-Canadian folk artists, but the iconography has a consistent theme related to the Kanien'gehaga traditional worldview. There is usually a carved flowering tree that may reference the Sky World; the tree often has a mother bird feeding her young and represents the relationship between the cosmos and the Kahnawake people. Kahnawake Mohawk, United States, Americas

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