Ojibwa artist
Western Great Lakes region
Bandolier Bag, about 1890
Glass beads, cotton, silk
41¼ x 15½ x 1 in. (104.8 x 39.4 x 2.5 cm.)
Gift of Miss Katie Galt Miller  1937.68.150

A Desirable Accessory
During the late 1800s, men of the Ojibwa (or Chippewa) tribe wore beautifully beaded bags such as this hung over their shoulders and draped diagonally across their bodies. The form may have been copied from a type of bag used by European soldiers to carry ammunition. Ojibwa bags, however, were less functional and more ceremonial. Men wore them on special occasions as a sign of wealth and prestige, and they gave them as gifts.