A Mississauga birch-bark box decorated with porcupine quills.
Made by Catharine Sunegoo in the mid-nineteenth century, this box is 15 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width, 8.3 cm in height. Catherine Sunegoo retained her Indian status after she married an Englishman William Sutton, and left the Credit band to farm near Owen Sound. Today, however, under the Indian Act all Indian women marrying non-Indian husbands automatically give up their Indian status. In contrast, a non-Indian woman who marries an Indian immediately assumes it, and the children of the marriage are regarded as status Indians. For a full description of the several different legal and quasi-legal categories of Canadian Indians see James. S. Frideres, Canada's Indians: Contemporary Conflicts Scarborough: Prentice-Hall, 1974), pp. 1-5.
Courtesy: The Owen Sound and Grey County Museum, Owen Sound
