Pick-up Sticks (Haida)

Haida pick-up sticks exist in two sorts. There were non-decorated thin playing sticks (not collected) and the other decorated, containing three sets of sticks. These were named after animals or birds only known by the owner or his family, according to

Charles F. Newcombe Charles Frederick Newcombe (15 September 1851 – 19 October 1924) was a British botanist and ethnographic researcher. He is known for his studies of the First Nations or native people of Canada. Biography Newcombe was born in Newcastle-upon- ...

. The decoration consists of rings and spiral markings for distinction. Most elaborated sets may contain a

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a 1 ...

art gallery of more than fifty drawings. Made of maple wood, they are decorated with pyro-engravings or carvings. Many pyro-engravings are inlaid with copper or abalone shell. The drawings are complex and an artistic challenge as they are wrapped around a cylinder. Their form is unlocked through slow rotation and are sometimes animated cartoon-like with themes of moving shamans, birds, whales, war scenes, hunting, fishing, etc. The compositions are small and not more than 2 cm in length. The sticks were a field where the Haida became truly documentary.

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

, Swanton and others published drawings of many art sets.

George T. Emmons George Thornton Emmons (June 6, 1852 – June 11, 1945) was an ethnographic photographer and a U.S. Navy Lieutenant. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was George Foster Emmons. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1874. In ...

recorded many details about a full set owned by a

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

. It is possibly related to the

pick-up sticks Pick-up sticks, pick-a-stick, jackstraws, jack straws, spillikins, spellicans, or fiddlesticks is a game of physical and mental skill in which a bundle of sticks, between 8 and 20 centimeters long, is dropped as a loose bunch onto a table to ...

game played today, most notably the

Jackstraws Pick-up sticks, pick-a-stick, jackstraws, jack straws, spillikins, spellicans, or fiddlesticks is a game of physical and mental skill in which a bundle of sticks, between 8 and 20 centimeters long, is dropped as a loose bunch onto a table to ...

variation. Haida Games of physical skill {{FirstNations-stub