The Covenant Chain: Indian Ceremonial and Trade Silver by Sandra Gibb, and N. Jaye Fredrickson (review)

248 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW whathehasspentyearstellingusnottodo,losingpespective? Onecanunderstandthatasa former diplomatHolmesishorrifiedat the cavalierattitudeof SenatorPellof RhodeIsland.NovaScotians, whohavebeendealingwiththe Americans overthefisheries since•783,areless so. SinceHolmesgavehislectures therehasbeenagrowingrealization onboth sidesof the border that mattersweregettingout of hand.The rhetoricwas becoming tooshrillandthreatening.In Novemberx98• thecreationof ajoint consultative groupheadedbyambassadors suggests thatHolmesiansolutions are still possible. An unofficialmodus vivendiseemsto have been reached wherebythe Americans grudginglyacceptthe NationalEnergyPolicyand Canadians concede that one bout of economic nationalism at a time is sufficient for all concerned. It is the chapter'CanadianRoots'that makesLifewithUncleof particular interest. Althougheschewing thepolemic andthephilosophical approach of GeorgeGrant,Holmesdoeslamentthepastandfearfor thefuture.Canadians haveslippedintoamnesia andhaveforgottentheyaredifferent:'Canadaasa validentityis in dangerof extinguishing itselfin something calledNorth America.' Holmessees nothing wrongwiththefirstofJulybeingcalled DominionDayandfinds 'peace, orderandgoodgovernment' anentirelysatisfying goal.Canadians makenoclaimtoamystical nationalism, rathertheyhavebuilt amodernstatedesigned toprotectandfurthertheinterests ofdiverse peoples. Althoughfor Canadiandiplomatsthe risingforceof regionalinterests and pressures hasincreased their labours,a former colleague of theirscantake somesatisfaction that it wasthosevery sameforcesthat in November•98• ensuredthat 'peace,order and goodgovernment'remainedthe mainstay of Canadian nationhood. B.C.CUTHBERTSON Public Archives ofNovaScotia TheCovenant Chain:IndianCeremonial andTradeSilver.SANDRA GIBBand N.JAYE gREDRXCI•SON. Ottawa, National Museumsof Canada, •98o. Pp. •68, illus. $24-95cloth,$•7.95 paper. A press release distributed bythepublisher ofthisbook,theNationalMuseums of Canada,describes it as'the first comprehensive accountof the historical significance ofsilver, bothasatradegoodandasasymbol ofpeace between the Indiansand the Europeansfor the period•76o-182•. ' At bestthisisan overstatement . TheCovenant Chainisprimarilyacatalogue writtentoaccompany a travelingexhibitionof Indianceremonial andtradesilver. The exhibition was organizedby the National Museumof Man in Ottawa and containsovertwo hundred coins and ornaments borrowed from museums in Canada and the United States.Mostof the pieces in the exhibitionwerecreatedfor the fur tradebyEuropeans orcolonial silversmiths. More than one-halfof TheCovenant Chainconsists of the catalogue itself, REVIEWS 249 blackandwhitephotographs of thepieces on exhibit.The catalogue isprecededbytwenty -six pages ofnarrativeconcerning thefur tradein generaland the importanceof trade silverto the fur trade between•76o and •86•. This narrativeisamplyillustrated. A shortbibliography ismadeup of secondary sources, primarilyarticles, with theexception of the published papersof Sir WilliamJohnsonand one setof publisheddocuments dealingwith Indian relations. Astheauthorsnote,themostimportantpublications on the subject are included. Notwithstanding thepress release, thenarrativeisnotintendedfor aprofessional audience andit does notmakeamajorscholarly contribution. Rather,it is a well-written, often informative statement that should constitute for the generalreader a helpful historicalbackgroundto the displaypieces.The authors, whoalsoputtogethertheexhibition,havesomeinteresting thingsto sayabouttradesilverandthefur trade,andtheirphotographs areexcellent. The significance of tradesilvertothefur tradeisoverstated, butthatisunderstandable giventheperspective oftheexhibit. Thisisnotahistory book. PETER T.SHERRILL University ofArkamas atLittleRock Artificial Curiosities fromtheNorthwest Coast ofAmerica; Native American Artefacts in the British Museum collected ontheThirdVoyage ofCaptain James Cook andacquired through SirJoseph Banks. J.½.H.KING.London, British MuseumPublications, •98•. PP.•9, illus.œ45. A recentpreoccupation amongethnologists andethnohisorians of thePacific hasbeentoverifyasprecisely aspossible thenativeobjects gatheredfrom the earliest voyages tothatvastocean, itsinnumerable islands, anditsthenscantlyknownrim . Erna Gunther's IndianLifeontheNorthwest Coast ofNorthAmerica 0 97•) madeextensive useof artefacts collected atthetimeof earlycontact and includeda lengthyappendixlistingeighteenth-century objects in European museums. Her introductorystatement, that 'asfar asisknown,no intensive study hasbeenmadeof theartefacts stillavailable fromtheeighteenth-century expeditions' (xiii),wasalreadybeingpartiallydisproven. AdrienneL. Kaeppier ,thenof theBerniceP.BishopMuseumin Honolulu,waswellalongin the research whichmaturedintoher •978 'ArtificialCuriosities' exhibitionandits exquisite 3oo-page catalogue. Dr Kaeppler's personal interest liesinearlyPolynesia ,especially Tonga,but sheextendedher research to all areasof Captain James Cook's threevoyages, including theNorthwest Coast ofAmerica.Kaeppierwroteof 'tracking down'ethnographic materialandGuntherhadearlier described herownworkasbeingthatof 'anacademic detective.' In thisrecent publication Jonathan King's investigation of theBritishMuseum's eighteenthcentury Northwest Coast items takes ontheflavourofacute Holmesian deduction . The Museum of Mankind'scollectioncontains•7 articlesreputedly ...