Chippewa Luc Du Flambeau Fish Decoy

ca. 1920-1940

Fish 2.125" H x 8.25" L x 2.625" W 

Hand Carved Wood with Painted Green, Black, Brown and White Colors with Four Orange and Brown Metal Fins and two Black Beads for Eyes with a String Attached

Excellent Condition

These are traditional Native American ice-fishing decoys carved by Chippewa artisans, used for spearfishing through ice holes in winter.

Fish decoys are one of the oldest forms of American folk art, dating back over 1,000 years among Indigenous peoples around the Great Lakes and Bering Sea. The Chippewa (also called Ojibwe) of the upper Midwest refined this craft for practical spearfishing, believing the decoys captured the "innua" (spirit) of the fish to attract prey like walleye, pike, or sturgeon. By the 19th–20th centuries, they became both functional tools and collectible art, especially during the Great Depression when fishing was a survival skill.

Provenance:  From the Len and Toni Wood Private Collection, Laguna Beach, California