Clothing was still a medium through which people indicated their position in society. Different motifs and patterns as well as the materials used told others about the wearer’s status. HBC Traders soon realized this and took advantage of it in an attempt to increase dependency on European goods. It became common for Traders to give Headmen “Chief’s coats” in exchange for their patronage. It is unclear whether the following description from Schmitter describes a Chief’s coat provided by the HBC or a replica made by a First Nations woman. Regardless, the existence of this type of clothing indicates its role in reflecting the wearer’s status. By the time the Klondike Gold Rush was in full swing most Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in had adopted European styles and adapted these into their traditional wardrobe, using a mix of garments that made sense.
The coat of a chief was decorated down the front and back and had a special collar, significant of his office, which consisted of a strip of mooseskin about two inches wide and nearly a yard long with one margin fringed by cutting it into strips. On this was sewed strands, and strings of quills were suspended from the ends. The collar hung around the neck and down the front like a scarf. A special hunting belt was made of caribou skin decorated from porcupine quills, and from it hung an ornamented moose skin sheath containing a hunting knife. In Mishler and Simeone, 2004, pg 180.
Photo: Alaska Mission Records (PHO 3.503), Archives of the Episcopal Church published in Fair 2006.