Haudenosaunee Antler Carving

Bone and antler are significant to Haudenosaunee stories and peoples; however, these media remain marginalized in discussions of Haudenosaunee art. Consequently, contemporary artists and makers find it difficult to revive the use of bone and antler in their practices. In this talk, Hayden Haynes will survey and discuss the trajectory of Haudenosaunee bone and antler uses, beginning with prehistoric tools and ornaments, moving into the emergence of decorative Seneca combs, and concluding with the reactivation of antler work in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Throughout, Haynes will detail the influences of trade and systems of oppression upon this art form.

This project is made possible with funds from the Expanding Access to Arts Funding in WNY, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Cullen Foundation.