Traditional Pioneer Women’s Bonnet, c. 1885 - 1890 (Teton Dakota - West Sioux)

Traditional Pioneer Women’s Bonnet, c. 1885 – 1890 (Teton Dakota – Sioux dell’Ovest)

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Technique and Dimensions:

Tanned cervid skin, tissue, porcupine spines (flattened with teeth or nails, dyed and sewn)

Location:

C.A. 356

Provenance:

Donated by US Catholic Mission Association, 1893

Traditional pioneer women’s bonnet, dubbed the "Mother Hubbert Hat", with decorations typical to western Sioux tribes depicting bison, arrows, mythical birds and, on the reverse, a stylised spider's web, a symbol of corporeal integrity. These designs recall the "Ghost Dance," a religious movement practiced by nearly all the indigenous peoples of the plains in the late 1800s. The practice came to an end with the massacre of Wounded Knee on December 28th of 1890 (today known as Pine Ridge), which saw the slaughter of 168 people, among which seniors, women, and children were slaughtered.