Crafts: Art of Daily Life

The natural environment is a crucial element in Indigenous peoples’ craft traditions. The tribes living on the Great Plains are skilled at producing clothes and hunting tools from buffalo, and people in colder regions have developed techniques for making winterized clothes. The materials and designs of everyday objects like earthenware and baskets embody both their culture and natural environments. Concepts that are important to the respective tribes, such as spiritual beings or mythology, are reflected as well.