| Winona Plentyhoops, a member of the Crow cultural
group of the Plains, is a renowned doll maker. Here are three examples
showing a recreation of the clothing her ancestors of the late 19th
century would have worn. One female doll wears the attire of the "Holy
Woman", complete with abalone jewelry, as she engaged in the
yearly ritual of planting tobacco seeds. The other female doll sports
a beaver skin belt and traditional everyday dress. The male doll wears
the blue war shirt and the prized trade goods of wool blanket and
beads incorporated into the clothing of the Crow in the 19th century.
The tradition of doll making stretches back to time immemorial. How
the doll is constructed and dressed places the creation in the context
of its time and place. Here the contemporary cloth materials reflect
the earlier and full integration of trade cloth into the Crow culture.
|
