Historical stereotypes challenged in reconstruction of Haudenosaunee armour

Display includes original and recreations of copper weapons and tools

By Lisa Iesse Writer HAMILTON – A Six Nations man’s reconstruction of 400-year-old Haudenosaunee armour speaks back to stereotypes and is challenging how we engage with history. Malcolm Kahyonhakonh Powless-Lynes is a 28-year-old blacksmith and craftsman from Six Nations of the Grand River whose creative work is now featured in an exhibit which opened Thursday (August 31) at the Dundas Museum. For over four years, he has worked on breathing new life into the hidden history of Haudenosaunee warriors who guarded their communities across the Eastern Woodlands. Powless-Lynes reconstructed armour, helmets, bows, arrows, shields, along with other tools used by Haudenosaunee warriors, by looking at artefacts, at long preserved cultural practices, and a handful of written sources. Powless-Lynes spoke with Turtle Island News at the exhibit’s opening at the Dundas…

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