The lot features a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) beaded cap a classic "Niagara" cap and dating to the late-19th-century. The piece trade clothe with whimsical beadwork in a cap or turban pattern. This hat was created by a Haudenosaunee (hoe-dee-no-SHOW-nee) craftsperson in the mid-nineteenth century. The Haudenosaunee is an alliance of six nations, the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, the Seneca, and the Tuscarora. These nations are more commonly known as the Iroquois Confederacy. They continue to live in territories and reservations in current-day New York, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. Each of the six nations share many cultural similarities, but they all have distinct languages and cultural practices too. The opening of the Erie Canal in the 1820s helped bring many people to the region where Haudenosaunee people lived, and this resulted in a booming tourist trade. This flowery, beaded cap was a one of many produced for sale to tourists in the Niagara Falls vacation destination in approximately 1870 (see The Huntington). This example shows little bead loss and is well kept. Measures 7.5-inches in diameter approx. by 5.5-inches high and 22-inch circumference.