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Museum celebrates donation of
Kootenai Tribe artifacts and photographs |
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February 25, 2015 |
A unique and noteworthy collection of Kootenai
Tribe art, artifacts, and photographs was
unveiled for public display at the Boundary
County Museum last Saturday, February 21.
The new collection included 13 artifacts and
over 100 photographs.
These items were donated to Boundary County
museum by Doug and Polly Lisle. Doug is a nephew
of Annie Patterson, who was a cook at the
Mission School around 90 years ago, in the late
1920s up to 1935.
Ms. Patterson had gathered these remarkable
items over the years, and passed them on to Mr.
Lisle at the time of her death in the late
1950s.
Mr. Lisle kept and preserved the photographs and
artifacts for over 50 years. Eventually, he and
his wife felt they needed to return to Boundary
County and the Kootenai Tribe, so the couple
donated them to our Museum.
 The donated items include several pairs of
moccasins, a pine needle basket, a beaded turtle
toy and other toys, and two beautiful cradle
boards.
While the Museum program was still in its
planning and preparation stages, word of the
event prompted another donation to the Museum
from another Boundary County couple. "Leonard
and Margie Brant heard about the program and
wanted everyone to enjoy a cradle board they
own," said Museum curator Susan Kemmis, "so they
brought it up to give to the Museum. So on
display for the program also was the cradle
board made by Catherine Abraham Francis in the
1920's."
The public unveiling and celebration of the
donated items opened with Tribal Chair Gary
Aitken, Jr. praising the younger people for
honoring their Kootenai traditions. The event
also included a slide show by Ms. Kemmis,
presenting the newly-donated photographs from
the collection and pictures of the artifacts.
Along the way, history of the area and the Tribe
and fun stories about some of the people in the
photographs were shared.
Also participating were the Kootenai Singers
drum group, who performed two songs.
Members of Annie Patterson's family and members
of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho were special
guests at the event.
The Boundary County Museum has thousands of
historic, cultural, and art items from the
county and its history. Currently over 28,000
items are cataloged on the Museum's computerized
inventory system, with ongoing cataloging
continuing daily.
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