\i \ rERIAL CULTURE 1 i 



years it has become a kind of tuxedo, it was formerly t he 

 more or less exclusive uniform of important function- 

 aries. On the other hand, the shirt itself, stripped of its 

 ornaments and accessories seems to be of the precise 

 pattern once worn in daily routine. Yet, the indiea- 

 t ions are that as a regular costume, the shirt was by no 

 means in general use. The Cree, Dene, and other 

 tribes of central Canada wore leather shirts, no doubt 

 because of the severe winters. We also have positive 

 knowledge of their early use by the Blackfoot, Assini- 

 boin, Crow, Dakota, Plains-Cree, Nez Perce, Northern 

 Sluxhoni, Gros Ventre, and on the other hand of their 

 absence among the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Paw nee, 

 Osage, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Comanche. 

 Thus, the common shirt was after all not typical of the 

 Plains Indians: it is only recently that the special 

 decorated form so characteristic of the Assiniboin, 

 Crow, Blackfoot, and Dakota has come into general 

 use. Several interesting points may be noted in the 

 detailed structure of these shirts, but we must pass on. 



For the head there was no special covering. Yet in 

 winter the Blackfoot, Plains-Cree, and perhaps others 

 in the north, often wore fur caps. In the south and west 

 the head was bare, but the eyes were sometimes pro- 

 tected by simple shades of rawhide. So, in general, 

 both sexes in the Plains went bare-headed, though the 

 robe was often pulled up forming a kind of temporary 

 hood. 



Mittens and gloves seem to have been introduced by 

 the whites, though they appear to have been native in 

 other parts of the continent. 



