The most recent project that I've begun working on is an old style Blackfoot pipebag and traditional pipe. The leather is hand braintanned and smoked a very dark brown (uncommon on the Northern Plains). Beads are size 8 chaulk white, dark blue, and light blue. There are two trade beads on either of the leather cinch-ties, and the edges of the pipebag are bound with red trade wool.
The pipestem is made from ash wood, and the pipebowl is carved from a dark-gray shale found along the eastern slopes of Blackfoot country, near present day Glacier National Park, MT.
The style of this bag is "old style," meaning that rather than having the sewn edges on the inside of the bag, all seams are on the outside and covered. This style is representative of the early 1800's, through the American Fur Trade era.
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There are several key items on this era reproduction that make it distinctly Blackfoot, or Siksika. The first is the beadwork pattern; the "mountain" pattern was a very typical Blackfoot design and is found on many examples of period items. The second item of note are the colors of the beads used; white, light blue and dark blue were the favorite, and most abundant bead colors available to the Blackfoot. Two, opposing cinch-strings on either side of the bag, used to enclose its contents is also distinctive only of the Blackfoot people. Lastly, the pipebowl, carved of black, or dark gray shale, and shaped like an upside-down acorn, is also unique only to the Blackfoot.
