MOAC SubObjID #2671 (moac subobjid) and S4 (original number)
Description:
Lotches (man) in canoe with fish-net.
Collection place:
Klamath Reservation, Klamath County, Oregon
Culture or time period:
Klamath Lake
Maker or artist:
Samuel A. Barrett
Materials:
Acetate film
Culture depicted:
Klamath Lake
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Black-and-white negatives
Production date:
1907
Context of use:
Klamath Lake is situated in southern Oregon, at about the center of California’s northern border. The person pictured is fishing with a pole that has a large net on it. The net is most likely made from sleleˑčʼ (urtica holosericea). The audio recording presents fishing as labor rather than leisure. The canoe seems to be a dug-out one probably made of fir, and is very narrow as is standard. The net pictured is a triangular dip net, in Klamath wičʼoˑLs, in 15-4080 it is in position to catch, as about half of the net is submerged. It is usually used to catch schools of small fish (ḳ!ŏptu) while larger fish are caught with a hook and line or spear. A circular scoop net is also popular. Luring is traditionally called ksviwLaa̲, frightening fish by swishing water and drumming the side of the canoe with sticks, hek̲sᵛiwLaa. The net is raised after quite a few fish are caught and the fish are put into sturdy tule baskets such as 1-14286. Fish is the foundation of Klamath sustenance, often served with a relatively similar portion of vegetables, especially roots. It is abundant in the lake but also in creeks, marshes, and springs that don’t freeze in the winter. Salmon is another big choice though it isn’t caught by the triangular net. Fish are either roasted (seems more equivalent to blackening based on sources) or dried. It is such a staple that winter villages are built along water sources that don’t freeze. Fish and water are public sources, anyone can fish anywhere. Klamath name: ʔews Relevant Klamath vocabulary: sg̣ ᵛakʼiˑm iʼ̲a - canoe (v.) around the edge of a lake swʼᵛewčaa - to go fishing swʼews - fish line (sinew) r̲ r̲es̲wʼᵛewys - fisherman deklʼga - to net a fish hek̲sᵛiwLaa - to catch a fish with a net by drumming on the side of a canoe ksviwLaa̲ - to frighten a fish to go into a net
Department:
Still and motion photography
Dimensions:
height 4 inches and width 5 inches
Comment:
Orig. Negative Dimensions: 5 x 7 in. Slide # 3748. Investigation of Physical Anthropology of California. cf. The material culture of the Klamath Lake and Modoc Indians of northeastern California and southern Oregon, by S.A. Barrett The Klamath Indians of southwestern Oregon, by Albert Samuel Gatschet. Klamath Ethnography, by Spier