Back Pack for Baby at the Trinidad Museum
If you have ever wondered how ancient people cared for their children before diapers, strollers, and plastic toys, the Trinidad Museum has the answer. When you reserve your stay at Emerald Forest Cabins & RV, you can take the kiddos to see a fascinating current exhibit of Native Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa crafts that were used to care for their babies without all the modern things we take for granted.
Back Pack for Baby
The Native Americans who inhabited this region wove baskets of willow to carry the baby in. The basket was carried on the mother’s back and the infant faced outward so s/he could see and interact with the world. The baby’s seat was lined with lichens or moss – an ancient disposable diaper. Woven rattles, beads, and shells kept the little ones amused. What happened when the kiddo outgrew the basket? The mother wove a bigger one – as many as three or four until the child was ready to crawl.
Your Day of Discovery at the Trinidad Museum
The Trinidad Museum specializes in the history of Trinidad and local Native American cultures. Some of the permanent art and artifact exhibits include…
- Grey Whale and Calf – a bronze sculpture by Connie Butler, spotlighting our local sea life
- Trinidad Cross artifact – Three individual wood pieces that are believed to be the remnants of the original wooden cross erected by the Spanish in 1775
- Fresnel Lens from the Trinidad Lighthouse – The lens on exhibit is a 375 mm. Fifth Order Fresnel drum lens. It had served as the operating lens in the lighthouse from 1947 until 2013 and is on permanent loan to the Trinidad Museum Society from the U.S. Coast Guard.
- Redwood canoe and Tsurai Village diorama – the canoe was hand carved by a direct descendant of the last recognized medicine woman of Tsurai Village to commemorate the Yurok people whose territory extended from the Klamath River to Little River.
- Mural and painting of early Trinidad – See Susan Morton’s mural in the main entry room of the Trinidad Museum along with a painting of “Spanish Discovery of Trinidad Bay, California 1775.”
Visit the Trinidad Museum at 400 Janis Court at Patricks Point Drive in Trinidad to see all of these wonderful things. Don’t forget to stroll through the Native Plant Gallery where seaside daisies, yarrow, coastal goldenrod, bearberry, red columbine, and dozens more blooming plants will complete your day of discovery.