Métis Frock Coat

This early 1820s hide coat is associated with the Métis culture from the Red River settlement area.

Written by Maria Cristina Laureano

 — Posted December 1, 2013
The Manitoba Museum, HBC Museum Collection

This early 1820s hide coat is associated with the Métis culture from the Red River settlement area. It was inspired by the European frock coat and reflects two cultures brought together through the fur trade.

Unlike its plainer European counterpart, the Métis frock coat is richly decorated and includes colourful First Nations geometric designs and Métis floral work. The coats were worn by Métis men and used as trade items.

Measuring 115 centimetres long and 56 centimetres wide when open, the coat is most likely made out of bison hide. Further details include flattened and dyed porcupine quills in the shoulder areas that were woven on a bow loom before they were attached to the coat.

A woven sash would have been used to keep the coat closed.

This article originally appeared in the December 2013-January 2014 issue of Canada’s History magazine.

This article is also offered in French. 

Themes associated with this article

Related to Fur Trade

Spectacular Knife

Often called a buffalo knife or chief’s knife, this artifact was described as “extremely heavy… a sort of butcher’s cleaver with a point instead of squared-off end.”

Article

Tobacco Pipes

Clay tobacco pipes became part of European culture after explorers encountered Indigenous peoples in North America in the sixteenth century.

Article

Tobacco Carrot

More than sixty-five tonnes of tobacco moved through York Factory between 1720 and 1774. Much of it was packaged in a form known as a carrot, because it resembled the shape and size of the vegetable.

Article

Tales & Treasures: The Little Emperor

Dr. Jamie Morton, curator at the Manitoba Museum, explains the nature of the Company's organizational hierarchy and Simpson's role as governor through these extravagant artifacts: an elaborate silver candelabra and a ram's head snuff mull.

Video