Kiowa, Oklahoma
AmericanDress, ca. 1880
Not on view
Deerskin, cowrie shells, elk teeth and glass beads
Dimensions52 3/4 × 45 1/2 in. (134 × 115.6 cm)
Museum purchase from the Chandler/Pohrt Collection, 1985.35
The Kiowa were settled on land adjacent to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. There was a frequent exchange of artistic ideas and each group influenced the other. This dress shares a number of traits with the Cheyenne dress in this exhibition. However, in this case, the yoke has been decorated with parallel rows of cowrie shells and two rows of elk teeth. Cowrie shells were imported by traders (just as the glass beads) and gained popularity as a dress ornament.
This dress and the two Kiowa cradles were collected by Lieutenant Stephen Seyburn while serving in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Subsequently, he was stationed at Fort Wayne in Detroit.
