202cae7b-ab89-44a6-8bb2-f2dea9a1c9e5

Birchbark Invitation, 1900

large, roughly hewn piece of birchbark inscribed with twenty-four lines in Anishinaabemowin

This is a large, roughly hewn piece of birchbark inscribed with twenty-four lines in Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes. In the upper right corner is a portrait, underneath which is written “Francis West, 1900” and, below that, “Kaboosa, Objibway”. The frame is made of bark and is ornamented with a twig on the top and the bottom. According to the translation that has been circulated since 1902, the object is an invitation to a performance of Hiawatha that was given in Desbarats, Ontario, in the summer of 1900.

NPS Photo / James P. Jones || Photography RI

James P. Jones

Public domain

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Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Code: LONG

Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Latitude: 42.3769989013672, Longitude: -71.1264038085938

NPS Museum Catalog Number : LONG 6132

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site Museum Collection

06/04/2025

06/04/2025

Public Can View

James P. Jones

James P. Jones

Organization: Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site
Address: 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Email: LONG_archives@nps.gov

Friday, August 1, 2025 7:47:35 PM

Friday, August 1, 2025 8:10:26 PM

LONG 6132.jpg

Wednesday, June 4, 2025 1:18:11 PM

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