Precious little has ever been published about the hewellery--often equisite, and symbolically rich--made by Native silversmiths. These essays by E. Pauline Johnson, the famous Canadian poet also known as Tekahionwake, constitute one of the few sources of information. They retell some of the central myths and legends of the Iroquois and look at the silver ornaments dealing with them.
Johnson died before the material could be published in book form, as she had wished. Only now is it gathered together for the benefit of students of indigenous cultures, admirers of craftsmanship in silver and followers of Johnson herself, the most famous Native writer of her time. |