Here is a photo of over 1920 spoons from “Barbara Robertson Gitxsan Donation.” The spoons had been stored for many decades in 2 trunks, along with 20 regalia items.  The objects had been passed down to Barbara Robertson from her father, who had run a trade store in Hazelton in the early 1900s. After Mrs. Robertson passed away, her husband and sons decided the objects in the trunks should be donated to MOA. All of the dark coloured spoons in the photo are made from the horns of mountain goats. (The few lighter coloured spoons are made of either mountain sheep horn, cow horn or wood.)

No one here has ever seen such a large collection of goat horn spoons before and, unfortunately, we don’t know the actual history behind this massive collection. We can only surmise that the spoons may have been used for very large feasts in the past, but then were traded at the store for supplies in the early 20th century? Who knows, maybe someday we’ll find out more.