Pouch; Otter skin; Indigenous Peoples, North America

Otter skin formed into a tobacco pouch, decorated with quillwork and brass or copper cones containing hair. The pouch is believed to have been gift of Wabasha (from the Mdewakanton Santee Sioux tribe, southeastern Minnesota) to Colonel DePeyster. Wabasha (meaning ‘Red Leaf’) had traded with the French, and later the British maintaining good relations and assisting in the Revolution, treating with DePeyster at Michilimackinac.