Wôbanaki Man's Clothing from 1700

Wôbanaki people did not have special clothing for sleeping. They would sleep in what seemed most suited for the season. In the winter this would mean wearing several layers to bed and in the hot weather one might sleep without clothing. The man pictured here carries a wool blanket for his bed.

Hairstyles differed from group to group. In general, men living further north tended to keep their hair longer because the climate was cooler. Hairstyles would also change over the course of one’s life to reflect personal taste, or to signify alliance or mourning.

Wôbanaki people believed it was a good idea to protect sensitive areas of the body, such as joints, the neck, ears and face, with jewelry, garters, and tattoos. By these means, they believed that dangerous energy or spirits could not enter their bodies. Jewelry with complicated patterns, reflective surfaces, and dangling and jangling pieces such as bells or metal cones, all helped to confuse harmful forces. Porcupine quill embroidery, beading, fringe, and ribbons might be added to the edges of clothing, both to offer protection and to encourage connections with desirable plants and animals. For instance, the edges of a breechclout might be decorated with ribbon, or the flaps on a pair of moccasins might be decorated with beads or porcupine quill embroidery.

Among the numerous items available through trade in the early 1700s were wool and linen cloth, ready-made shirts and coats, knitted wool hats and mittens, glass beads, brass kettles, paint pigments such as vermillion, and metal axe and spear heads and knife blades. Native American people in New England would trade with the French in New France or the English in the American colonies. Items they received might come from England, France, Holland, or as far away as India.

Navigate to each layer of this activity by clicking on the "Next" and "Previous" buttons. Using your cursor, roll over each image to learn about the unfamiliar clothing.

Non-interactive, printable version of this activity

Note for Safari Users: to enable audio, from the menu bar at the top of your screen select "Safari > Settings for This Website > Auto-Play > Allow All Auto-Play".

top of page