Traditional Plains Indian Dress

Posted by Henry (Fall River, United States) on 4 September 2008 in Lifestyle & Culture and Portfolio.

I attend "Schemitzun" the Mashuntucket Pequot tribe's green corn festival every year. It is one of the country's largest Native American "pow wows". While looking around this year I came across this remarkable Plains Indian style dress. It is made from brain-tanned buckskin. This means that the deer hide was tanned using the animal's brain. It is then smoked to make it water resistant. On the dress you will notice some ornate porcupine quill weaving. Before the white invasion natives used quill work instead of beads. Porcupine quills were dyed, flattened and then woven in tight patterns as shown on the chest and shoulders here. The ivory objects are elk teeth (front teeth) and were popular on women's clothing. The purple and white disks you see are real quahog "wampum" shell. It was very valuable then and still quite expensive now. The material is very hard and the processes used to fashion it into disks and beads are very difficult even using today's equipment. Wampum was traded amongst the many tribes and made its way far inland. Finally, this dress could possibly be considered a transitional piece because of the use of white and lilac seed beads on the border areas. These could also be wampum, but more likely they are European glass beads.

It is one of the more beautiful and faithful reproductions of Native American work that I have seen.

To see more of Henry Krauzyk's work or purchase prints, please visit the following websites:

www.krauzyk.com

www.taylorphotostudios.com

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