Mali A’n (Morris) Sylliboy wears a peaked cap while standing in front of a


“wikuom,” a Mi’kmaw dwelling, built by her parents Christopher and Mary Josephine Morris.


That same cap is in the NMAI collection. One interpretation of the


“double-curved motif” on women’s caps such as this is that they represent life, with one end of the curve being the beginning, the line as the middle, and the other curve as the end: “We end up where we started.”


Peaked cap; wool. 14.2” x 8.9”. 17/6428


Left: Charlotte Wilmot of the Millbrook First Nation posed for a photo for Frederick Johnson in 1930.


Right: Nearly a century later, Kamden Nicholas was able to try on that same outfit, assisted by NMAI Fellow Sally Kim.


“Being wrapped in community knowledge is what keeps [these objects] alive.”


— Leah Rosenmeier, Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WINTER 2022 31


TOP LEFT: PHOTO BY FREDERICK JOHNSON, 1930, ESKASONI FIRST NATION, NOVA SCOTIA. NMAI N19907; BOTTOM LEFT: PHOTO BY FREDERICK JOHNSON, 1930, MILLBROOK FIRST NATION, NOVA SCOTIA. NMAI N19819; RIGHT: PHOTOS BY NMAI STAFF (3)

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