see also... Plains Jackets
PLAINS WAR SHIRTS / CEREMONIAL SHIRTS
(Ceremonial Shirts / Scalp Shirts / War Shirt)
The War Shirt
The original shirt wearers earned the right to wear War Shirts through great acts of bravery and deeds that were incorporated into the designs. Over a warriors lifetime, he would probably have owned more than one shirt. Some War Shirts were also thought to possess intrinsic spiritual powers which were transferred to the wearer. Buffalo hide was too thick to use, so the maker used Elk or deerskins. However, the ideal hides came from mountain sheep that roamed the Rocky Mountains to the Missouri River and beyond. After the shirt was made, it could be decorated in many ways. Four strips of quill work or beadwork could be attached extending over the shoulders and hanging midway down the back, the other two strips attached to the sleeves next to the shoulder strips. Neck tabs or facings on back and front of the shirt were also seen on Plains War Shirts. Some tribes used square-shapes while others used pointed tabs or other shapes. Rosettes are often found on the early shirts in themiddle of the chest and back. Hair from humans or horses often extended from the quilled arm strips and down the outside of the shoulder strips. Shirts with hair have been called scalp shirts, but they were only made with hair locks. Sometimes the same areas were decorated with fringe providing the flowing motion and a luxurious richness to the shirt. A shirt could also be filled with vivid paintwork or pictographic artwork
see also...
PLAINS JACKETS
Crow shirt with painted Thunderbird
Lakota Sioux Scalp Shirt circa 1870
The War Shirt of the Native American Indian - Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho, Crow, Kiowa, Comanche, Apache,Blackfeet, Nez Perce', Ute, etc.
BRULE SIOUX WAR SHIRT
Replica of a Brule Sioux Buckskin War Shirt from the Museum of the American Indian, New York This example was $4950
LAKOTA SIOUX SCALP SHIRT
Replica od a Lakota (Sioux) Scalp Shirt circa 1870. This example was $4950
CROW HAIR FRINGED SHIRT
Replica Lakota Sioux War Shirt (replica circa 1875) with leggings, shield & pony bow)
This shirt was inspired by the war shirt we made for the film "Finding Neverland"
Although the Smithsonian Institute records the original shirt as Crow - some scholars say that it is probably of Arapaho or Cheyenne origin dating from around 1880
This replica was $4895
This example is made of deer hide with beaded strips (lazy stitch), horse hair, beaded embellishments, trade beads, fringe, red trade cloth, coup marks, and natural clay earth pigment paints, rabbit fur, etc.
Shirt dyed with clay paints (picture with a bone whiste) This shirt was not aged to look old
Shrit $1,100
Whistle $124 (see whistles)
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MEMBERS OF IACA (Indian Arts & Crafts Association)