Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Clothing; Clothing and dress; Bags; Indians of North America -- Great Plains; Indians of North America -- Great Plains -- Social life and customs
Native American bags were often decorated with paint, beadwork, or quillwork with specific tribal designs. These designs sometimes revealed the specific use of the bag, such as a medicine bag or tobacco bag. This particular bag may have been...
Eskimos; Eskimos -- Alaska; Eskimos -- Alaska -- Social life and customs; Balls (Sporting goods); Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Sports
Traditionally, games of strength and endurance were played by the Alaskan Eskimo or Inuit and they did not require objects. Early contact with explorers introduced ball games that were sometimes adapted to fit the Alaskan Eskimo environment. This...
Indians of North America; Woodland Indians; Ojibwa Indians; Bags
Woodlands peoples first made large carrying bags for utilitarian purposes, such as for hunting or traveling. Decorative beadwork and panels were later added to the bags as accessories to formal clothing for various ceremonies or societies, such as...
Indians of North America; Nootka Indians; Indian baskets; Baskets
The Nootka people live along the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, and the northwest portion of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Their baskets are often made of cedar bark and spruce root. Some baskets are made for sale to the tourist...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America; Alaska; Indians of North America -- Alaska; Tlingit Indians; Tlingit Indians -- Social life and customs; Tlingit baskets; Indian baskets; Baskets; Basket...
The Tlingit people live in Southeastern Alaska, extending along the coast from British Columbia to Yakutat Bay in the north. Their baskets are often made of finely twined split spruce root decorated with false embroidery designs. Some baskets were...
Indians of North America; Nootka Indians; Indian baskets; Baskets
The Nootka people live along the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, and the northwest portion of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Their baskets are often made of cedar bark and spruce root. Some baskets are made for sale to the tourist...
Bees; Bees in art; Masks; Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America; Potlatch; Kwaguilth Indians; Kwaguilth Indians -- Social life and customs
Among tribes of the Northwest Coast, masks are worn during winter ceremonies (called "Potlatch"), a community event that hosts a series of songs, dances and rituals. During these ceremonies, masks are danced in ceremonial houses to...
Cliff-dwellers; Indians of North America -- Southwest, New; Pueblo Indians; Implements, utensils, etc.; Anasazi
The Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) lived in the present-day Four Corners region, which includes New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. They lived in this area from AD1 and AD1300 and are thought to be the ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians now...
Cliff-dwellers; Indians of North America -- Southwest, New; Anasazi; Storage jars; Pueblo Indians
The Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) lived in the present-day Four Corners region, which includes New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. They lived in this area from AD1 and AD1300 and are thought to be the ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians now...
Indians of North America; Pueblo Indians; Pueblo Indians -- Social life and customs; Pueblo pottery; Containers; Storage jars
In the beginning of the 20th century, Sara Fina Tafoya was the first Santa Clara Pueblo potter to succeed in marketing traditional utilitarian pottery with decorative non-functional designs. One image she began using was the imprint of a bear paw...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Clothing; Clothing and dress; Hides and Skins; Indian leatherwork; 19th Century
Native American children were often seen as miniature adults. Parents provided them with toys and clothing that were smaller versions of adult implements and dress. This helped to teach boys and girls responsibilities expected of them when they...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Southwest, New; Hopi Indians; Hopi Indians -- Religion; Hopi Indians -- Social life and customs; Kachinas; Bull-roarer
When spun rapidly through the air in circles, bullroarers make a low buzzing sound that Hopi peoples associate with wind, thunder and rain. They are used during special ceremonies, such as Kachina dances, to summon rain as well as to scare off evil...
Indians of North America; Osage Indians; Catlinite; Indians of North America -- Tobacco use; Tobacco pipes; Calumets
Native American people used the smoking pipe for many ceremonial and sacred reasons. Pipes were made out of many different materials such as shale, slate, limestone, and catlinite. Catlinite was a soft red stone found in the southwestern Minnesota...
Cliff-dwellers; Indians of North America -- Southwest, New; Pueblo Indians; Bowls (Tableware); Anasazi
The Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) lived in the present-day Four Corners region, which includes New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. They lived in this area from AD1 and AD1300 and are thought to be the ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians now...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Social life and customs; Indians of North America -- Clothing; Clothing and dress; Teton Indians; Powwows; Indian dance -- North America
Jingle dresses first came into fashion in the 1890s for Pow Wows dancing, which are intertribal get-togethers. Women danced in these resonant dresses lavishly adorned with bells and later, metal cone-shaped “tinklers.” When bells were too...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Clothing; Clothing and dress; Quillwork; Indians of North America -- Great Plains; Vests; Porcupines; 19th Century; Teton Indians
Buffalo hides were used to make robes, tipi covers, clothing, moccasins, and bags. Women usually prepared the hides, tanned and removed the hair, if necessary. Women spent many hours with the preparation of the hides, as well as with the...
Pomo Indians; Pomo Indians--Social life and customs; Musical instruments; Indians of North America--Music; Indians of North America--California
Clap sticks are used to keep rhythm in most Central Californian Native American dances. The stick is hit against the hand, causing the two split sides to clap together. 4-8 men clap sticks simultaneously while singing. At a certain point in the...
Miwok Indians; Miwok Indians--Social life and customs; Musical instruments; Indians of North America--Music; Indians of North America--California
Clap sticks are used to keep rhythm in most Central Californian Native American dances. The stick is hit against the hand, causing the two split sides to clap together. 4-8 men clap sticks simultaneously while singing. At a certain point in the...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Social life and customs; Cheyenne Indians; Cradleboards
Native American mothers, aunts, and grandmothers demonstrated their love and hope for infants by creating elaborately decorated cradle covers or cradleboards. They used beads, paint, wood, or tacks to make special carriers for their infants....
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Social life and customs; Kiowa Indians; Cradleboards
Native American mothers, aunts, and grandmothers demonstrated their love and hope for infants by creating elaborately decorated cradle covers or cradleboards. They used beads, paint, wood, or tacks to make special carriers for their infants....
