Nettle Fibre Beaters in the Collection of the Royal B.C. Museum

There are three wooden artifacts in the RBCM Ethnology Collection known as Nettle Fibre Beaters. Nettle beaters are much lighter than whale bone bark beaters that are designed for pounded larger cedar bark material. (See Keddie 2025; 2024; 2018 and 2016 for related material on Stinging Nettle).

The nettle beater, RBCM2071, was purchased May 20, 1914 at Fort Rupert (Port Hardy) by Charles Newcombe. He noted: “Ft. Rupert 20/V/14. Yakuglas” – “Beating stick used in making nettle string found in house rubbish of old foundation”. This was mistakenly labeled on the Museum database as “bark beater”. Later additions to the RBCM database had: Paddle shape nettle beater with design. Kwakwaka’wakw Yellow cedar. Fort Rupert. Tsaxis.

Figure 1. Top: RBCM9966. Middle RBCM9967. Bottom: RBCM2071.

RBCN2071 nettle beater is an older, and obviously a used one, compared to the other two that appear unused. Newcombe appears to have commissioned the other two to be made when he was in Alert Bay. RBCM9966 has the same design pattern as RBCM2071 and the latter appears to have been carved by the same person as RBCM9967.

Two of the nettle beaters, RBCM9966 and RBCM9967 were purchased by Charles Newcombe May 23, 1914 in Alert Bay. Newcombe’s original notes on RBCM9967 are: “carved back (owl) – butter pat shape, A.B.”- “EC 601”. ”. On the RBCM database they are mislabelled as “Club”. Later additions on database have the Culture listed as “Kwakwaka’wakw” and Cultural Group as ”Nimpkish”. These two were likely carved by the same person.