HOME

• Blackfeet or Cree artist
• 1860s-1870s
• Hide, bird quill, horsehair, human hair, brass beads, and glass beads
• Denver Art Museum: Gift of W.B. "Dub" and Maxine Blankenship, 2015.289

Shirts like this are often referred to as “war shirts” by Indigenous peoples living in the Great Plains region. They were more commonly worn by high-status warriors for ceremonial purposes. The straps of this shirt are sewn with beads and round medallions, whereas traditional shirts used flattened porcupine quills. As porcupine hunting became difficult, Indigenous people replaced porcupine quills with European glass beads obtained through trade with settlers. Human hair is attached to this war shirt as a means for the wearer’s family to offer blessings to the wearer.