Many communities located in the Eastern Woodlands fashioned narrow hand-plaited, or fingerwoven, sashes (or belts) that were used to bundle cradleboards, tow sleds and toboggans, or to fasten garments. Before the arrival of Europeans, the materials used in the manufacture of these items were locally sourced from trees and plants, such as the inner bark of basswood, cedar, and elm; fiber from plants such as milkweed and dogbane; and strips of moose hide. On the East Coast, the Penobscot used the inner fibers of basswood and colored them with mineral dyes of black, red-brown, yellow, or blue. The finest finger weaving could be further embellished with dyed porcupine quills or moose hair. After European colonization, artists began using commercially made and readily available materials obtained through trade, such as the spun wool and glass beads of this sash.

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