One aspect of the history of the Plains People, that is largely overlooked today, was their skill and agility to make beautiful beadwork. The most symbolic, and easily recognised today, is the Breast Plate. For hundreds of years, these skills were passed from one generation of females to the next generation, Native women worked hard to make beautiful and functional clothing for their families.

MATERIALS

The women used their skills to prepare and cut the hides, which would take up to almost forty hours of hard physical work to prepare. Such preparation required them to careful remove the hide from the dead animal, scrape of flesh and make preparations to rub into the hide to stop it rotting. Then it needed to be stretched and rubbed to soften it, and then evenly smoked to a beautiful tan colour.

Cheyenne women tanning hides

Before the advent of the Whiteman, and the glass beads he brought with him, the women from all over Turtle Island would have used natural materials such as beads carved from shells, coral, turquoise and other stones, copper and silver, wood, amber, ivory and animal bones, horns and teeth to decorate their clothing.

The Lakota, Nakota and Dakota beadwork, as it exists today, is the product of both Native American and other influences. The traditional quillwork - from which it evolved - was a Native invention, unique in North America and practiced nowhere else. However, the materials and designs of quillwork were gradually abandoned as the art of beading evolved, which was less tedious and time-consuming.

Native women passed on the history of their people and their tribal traditions down through the female linage, artistic, spiritual and historical knowledge was passed from one generation to another through dress design.

Porcupine Quills like these were used by Native American women for beautiful artwork and daily adornments.

The women acquired pony beads from the incoming traders and began to make the old quill designs with this new material, adding the colours blue and white. They next acquired an improved and smaller bead which allowed for coverage of larger areas with a wider colour range. Crafters then were able to create more elaborate patterns than the ones suited to the stiff, vegetable-dyed porcupine quills. The Lakota, Nakota and Dakota women then selected and combined them in geometrical designs growing out of ancient traditions. The result today is an art deriving from both Native and non-Native cultures and forming an interesting example of the interplay that has been going on between the cultures throughout the years.

As a great generalization, native beadwork can be grouped into beaded leather (usually clothing, moccasins, or containers) and beaded strands (usually used for jewellery, but sometimes also as ornamental covering to wrap around a gourd or other ceremonial or art object.) Each bead may be sewn on individually, or they may be attached in loops or rows of beads (as in the classic Plains Indian "lazy stitch" style.) To make beaded strands, a craftsperson stitches the beads together into strings or a mesh using sinew, thread or wire. Normally this is done by hand, but some tribes used bow looms to make belts or rectangular strips of beadwork. Beading strands and beading onto leather are both very complicated, time-consuming and delicate tasks which require many years of practice to do well.

Today, glass beads - particularly fine seed beads - are the primary materials for Native women who carry on this fine tradition. One must not forget, although this page shows a small selection of designs and clothing, there are in fact many different Native American beading traditions, designs, styles and stitches as there are tribes and nations.

Bone Hair Pipe Breast Plate

 

Of all the clothing or accoutrements worn by the Plains warriors, the bone breast plate is today the most easily recognised and symbolic image of that time. By 1810 the classic Plains breast plate had achieved a permanent place within the Lakota culture.

Today the bone breast plate is still the most desired accoutrement for traditional dance regalia and Pow Wows within most Nations.