Made in their home in their small town of Lidgerwood in North Dakota by Rick Whittier and Connie Whittier, retired law enforcement officers, these Whittier Decoys are imbued with both a long craft history and part of a fishing tradition that encompasses both sustenance and community formation. The Journal of American Folklore tells us that the history of crafting fish decoys in this region of the U.S. is rooted in indigenous practices of the Lac Du Flambeau band of Lake Superior Chippewa or Waaswaaganing in Ojibwe. Decoys were trailed through the water and used to bait larger fish that would then be speared. Today, the decoys serve that same purpose as well as being prized as decorative objects collected for display. Spearfishing is traditional in North and South Dakota as well as in Montana, Minnesota, and Michigan.

The decoys are hand-carved from white pine lumber and individually painted with aerosol spray and then finished with hand painted details. The decoys are weighted so that they appear to “swim” when pulled through the water. Over years of honing their crafts, the Whittiers have devised many self-made tools to attain the precise fish forms and surface patterning. Instead of hand-burning each scale—which he once did—Rick has now implemented a new roller tool that allows him to get the same result with less intense labor. He took inspiration from the use of spray paint by street and graffiti artists to get the airbrush effect visible on the decoys. The Whittier Decoys have been archived as part of North Dakota Folklife as an emblem of an ongoing folk art making history.

This work is part of the acquisitions related to the multi-year Contemporary department project, Craft Schools: Where We Make What We Inherit.

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