Trade Significance and Economic Sovereignty
Culturally and economically, the making of birchbark boxes like this has always been an essential part of indigenous women’s contribution to indigenous work. Deprived of sovereignty and land, indigenous women used craftworks to support and bolster their families and communities, trekking miles and miles to sell their wares (Racette 2009). This participation in the capitalist market allowed indigenous women a means through which to support both their families and communities - bringing economic power to their tribes that could be used to resist federal assimilation policies (Green 2013).
Birchbark boxes also hold a historical significance: in the 1800s, they were used as a diplomatic gift and became popular souvenirs for European military officers (Green 2013). Thus, this object is a historical relic of European-Indigenous American interaction, or at the very least, the memory of them.