Sorry for the lateness!
Finding sources about the Story Robe for my Four Views Project was a little bit difficult. The main issue I came across was that most sources provided generalized information from communities in the Plains region or across the entire country, and I was hesitant to make general assumptions about the artifact I was writing about. I had to be cautious about what information I used and how I presented this information, as I knew the answers given to me by the internet could never be universally true.
I also struggled with the fact that the Story Robe was only attributed to the Blackfoot Confederacy as a whole, and it’s unknown which community the robe was sourced from. It made it difficult to analyze the artifact’s purpose and intention, leading to more generalization about Native biographical art. This is further complicated by the fact that Blackfoot historical land is split between what is now the US and Canada. According to the article ‘National Museum of the American Indian Repatriates Two Objects to the Siksika Nation’, the National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAIA) does not apply to First Nations people and is exclusive to federally recognized Native communities in the US. This means that the process for returning artifacts from American museums to Native communities is much more complicated if the community is on the other side of an arbitrary colonial border. This fact isn’t as applicable in the case of the Story Robe, as it is stored at the British Museum, but it’s still something to consider and it highlights how much knowledge is lost due to Blackfoot communities being split up.
Despite these struggles, I stayed focused on centering the perspectives and experiences of people in the Blackfoot Confederacy and respecting their unique history. I tried to use specific Blackfoot words where I could, based on the information provided by the Blackfoot Digital Library and Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park.
I really enjoyed analyzing the robe from multiple perspectives. I got to learn about natural paints and pigments, and how there are different words for ‘paint’ based on the process used by the artist. I analyzed the content of the robe and learned more about the Standing Up Headdress worn by the protagonist of the robe, and I’d like to spend more time researching the other clothing worn by people on the robe and finding related artifacts.
I think it would’ve been cool to be able to see the artifact in person, as I’m sure not all the details and intricacies were captured in this virtual format. However, the visuals available for this robe were still pretty good—I was able to turn the 3D model around and examine it close-up on the Blackfoot Digital Library website, and then I was able to find a translation of the paintings on a white background on the website for the British Museum. This helped me understand the Story Robe and experience the story being told.