Object

66. Man's Shirt
  • Seminole artist
  • Cow Creek Reservation, Florida
  • 1940
  • Cotton fabric
  • Native Arts acquisition funds, 1940.223

The Seminole were quicker than other Indigenous peoples of North America to adopt the culture of the settlers, embracing sewing machines in the late 1800s and crafting their clothing in styles similar to European fashion. This type of shirt was worn by high-ranking Seminole men during ceremonies from the late 1800s to the first half of the 1900s. The shirts are ornately decorated with narrow strips of cotton. Influenced by settler fashion, the shirts became shorter so that they could be easily tucked into pants.