E0362: Winnebago/Ho-Chunk Men's Turban ca. 1880s

Ethnographic

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Identifier:

E0362

Classification Category:

3:Personal Artifacts ➞ Clothing ➞ Headwear

Marks/Labels:

TAG" Basket work of Mary Two Crow, Winnebago Indian Women. Presented By Prof. Axel Jacobson, Wittenburg Wis.

Materials:

botanical ➔ fiber
fabric ➔ cloth
fabric ➔ yarn
glass ➔ bead

Dimensions:

15 cm L
6.5 cm H

Provenance of Object:

Winnebago/Ho-Chunk
Wittenburg, Wisconsin

Production Date:

ca. 1880s

Use/Function:

In the Winnebago/Ho-Chunk tribe, headdresses were traditionally worn by men who earned respect and authority.

Source Locality:

Wittenberg, Wisconsin, USA

Acquisition Date:

September 10 1924

Description:

Mary-Two-Crow was the Winnebago woman who created the turban and gifted it to Axel Jacobson, a Norwegian immigrant and served as an instructor and superintendent (1888-1906) of the Bethany Indian Mission School in Wittenberg, Wisconsin.

At least one of Mary-Two-Crow’s three children attended the Bethany Indian Mission School during Jacobson’s time there, and she may have gifted the turban to him to show her appreciation for her children’s education.

In the Winnebago/Ho-Chunk tribe, headdresses were traditionally worn by men who earned respect and authority. Making and gifting the turban to Jacobson showed her appreciation to him, and her respect as an authority at her children’s school.

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