RECONSTRUCTING MID-ATLANTIC NATIVE AMERICAN NET-MAKING TECHNOLOGY
Date
2019-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The work of Clem Carney, the last known Lenape net maker, inspired this study of
fishing nets, their construction, and materiality from Native groups throughout the
Mid-Atlantic region. For this research, I located and examined nets and associated
tools at both the National Museum of the American Indian and the American Museum
of Natural History, and compiled all data in systematic examination forms. I
consulted with the Lenape Tribe of Delaware in every step of the research. I then
shared my findings in numerous public and tribal forums and taught net-making
through public workshops held at the Biggs Museum of American Art in Dover, DE.
Through these events and a range of media posts and articles, at least 5,550 people
learned about this collaboration between the field of art conservation and an
indigenous community, prompting greater respect and interest in the work of Clem
Carney and the material culture of Native Mid-Atlantic groups as a whole.
Description
Keywords
art conservation, native american, net making