INDIAN COSTUMES KRIEGER 655 



of buckskin, painted green, and heavily bordered with cut fringes 

 and lines of beadwork. Near the bottom is a coil and eagle design 

 in beadwork. The moccasins of buckskin, painted green, have 

 stiff soles and vamp ornamented with cut fringe and beadwork; 

 trailers on the heels are of cut fringes. (Cat. No. 169083, U. S. N. M.) 

 The moccasins of the Sioux are made of buffalo hide and deerskin, 

 with rawhide soles and uppers in one piece, covered with beadwork 

 in triangular designs. 



On women's dresses from the Kiowa the shirt dress is sleeveless, 

 tlie yoke is beaded with cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean pro- 

 cured in trade. Formerly, when elk were abundant, the milk teetli 

 occupied the place of the shells. Leggings and moccasins are in 

 one and are ornamented with red flannel, beadwork, and silver-plated 

 buttons. (Cat. No. 152851, U. S. N. M.) 



Most of the Plains Indians wore long leggings tied to the belt. 

 Women's leggings were short, extending from the ankle to the knee 

 and supported by garters. 



There was no special covering for the head. Northern Plains 

 tribes wore fur caps at times. In the South and West the head was 

 bare, but the eyes were protected by shields of rawhide. Both sexes 

 went bareheaded, but on occasion pulled up the buffalo robe into 

 the form of a hood. The hands were not covered. 



The Sioux may be regarded as a tj^pe of the nomadic hunting 

 tribes of the Western Plains. The Plains tribes overran an enormous 

 territory including portions of Manitoba, the Dakotas, Nebraska, 

 Kansas, Texas, and neighboring regions. The principal groups as 

 the Sioux, Nez Perce, Sauk and Fox, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, 

 and Comanche, all have assumed, or are at the point of assuming, the 

 habits of civilization. 



The specimens shown in Plates 25, 26 are from several tribes of the 

 Siouan stock. In most instances it is not possible to definitely assign 

 Siouan specimens by tribes, as the customs and arts became exceed- 

 ingly mingled before the practical extinction of the tribal govern- 

 ment in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The exhibit, how- 

 ever, gives an impression of the Plains culture in comparison, for 

 instance, with that of the Northwest coast or pueblo region. 



In Plate 27 is to be seen a Sioux Indian woman dressed in beaded 

 buckskin frock with cut fringes, earrings of dentalium shells, and 

 leggings and beaded moccasins. In her left hand she carries a spoon 

 carved from cow's horn. 



The costume and cradle belonged to the Dakotas who came early in 

 contact with the French explorers. Their clothing, their tents, and 

 their utensils were made largely of skin. (PI. 28.) Formerly quills 

 of birds and of porcupines were used in decoration, but beads have 

 taken their place. 



