Lakota Artists: Arts & Crafts

Quillwork & Beadwork

• Quills from porcupines are softened and dried, then are woven onto leather or birchbark. Their original purpose was to create a protective layer on men's war shirts, and these shirts often took a year or longer to complete. Other uses were for medicine bags, moccasins, boxes and baskets. Today, quillwork is nearly a lost art, since quills are hard to work with and care for. Most Lakota women now work with beads. Glass beads and tiny, fine seed beads are the primary materials used today.
  
  

Buffalo Hide Paintings

• Buffalo hides often carried the history of a tribe on their inside. The fur side was used for warmth in the winter, but the inside of the hide was decorated with tribal history, as once a year, an important event in the life of the tribe was added to the history hide. Other hides were painted and worn by women to promote child bearing, or by sick people to promote healing. Important stories, such as victories over foes, were often depicted on buffalo hides. Buffalo hide robes are still being created today, with geometric patterns and stories depicted. These hides are available through Native American craft stores.
  
  

Pottery and Sculpture

• Pottery was used in ancient times for the storage of food. The nomadic tribes of the north had little use for pottery, since they were constantly on the move, but the Indians of the southwest made pottery into an art form, using a coil of clay and pinching the coils together. The Lakotas are still known for their pottery today, which is available in stores throughout the southwest United States, and on the Internet, through Native American craft sites.
  
  

Parfleches and Bags

• The nomadic tribes relied on bags to carry medicine and food. Specially sized and shaped bags to hold specific items were created and elaborately decorated to indicate what belonged inside. There were two types of bags -- a soft pouch made of a tanned hide and a parfleche made from stiff rawhide. Sometimes the two were combined, especially when a stiff shell was needed. These bags were decorated with paint, beads or quills forming tribal designs. These bags are still made today by the Lakotas and are available through Native American craft stores.