Tipi Bag (Possible Bag)
Wi-he-ha (Owl Woman) or Lucy Lone Dog, American, about 1853 - 1938
Lakota (Teton Sioux)
Plains
Nakota (Yanktonai)
late 19th century
Native-tanned hide, glass beads, tin cones, feathers, and thread
Overall: 13 3/8 × 18 7/8 in. (34 × 48 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Bequest of Frank C. and Clara G. Churchill
46.17.9815
Geography
Place Made: Fort Peck, United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Personal Gear: Bag
Research Area
American History
Native American: Plains
On view
Label
This tipi bag, also known as a “possible bag” for its many possible uses, features beadwork designs on the front panel, sides, and flap. Notice the symmetry of the design and how the artist’s use of complementary colors enhances the composition. This bag was made by Wi-he-ha (Owl Woman), who was also known as Lucy Lone Dog, a Nakota woman living on the Fort Peck Reservation when this and other items in the Hood Museum’s collections were collected by Frank and Clara Churchill. Until recently, we did not know the name of the artist, as she was only identified in our records as “Mrs. Lone Dog.” However, genealogical research led to the recovery of her name and more information about her life.
From the 2025 exhibition Always Already: Abstraction in the United States, curated by John Stomberg, Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961 Director; Jami Powell, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art; and Amelia Kahl, Barbara C. and Harvey P. Hood 1918 Senior Curator of Academic Programing
Course History
Art History 40.02, The American Century, Mary Coffey, Spring 2025
Art History 40.02, The American Century, Mary Coffey, Spring 2025
Exhibition History
Always Already: Abstraction in the United States, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 26,2025.
Provenance
Made by Mrs. Lone Dog (Pretty Eagle), Fort Peck, Montana; Clara G. Corser Turner Churchill (1851-1945) and Frank Carroll Churchill (1850-1912), Fort Peck, Montana, probably 1908; bequeathed to present collection, 1946.
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