Native American Delaware Tribe Culture

The objects that I were assigned were the Bandolier bag from the Native American Delaware Tribe, and the Painted elk hide from the Easter Shoshone tribe. Bandolier bags were extremely popular among most Native American tribes, and each tribe expressed their culture through them in a different way. This particular Bandolier bag comes from the Delaware, or Lenape, Tribe. It is estimated that it was created around 1850 C.E., and is crafted with beads on leather hide. This object has two components to it, one being the shoulder drape and the other being the small bag. These drapes and bags were typically worn by the men of the tribe, and only given to the most honorable men. They represented power, as well as ones social status. These pieces showed a new type of beadwork known as the “Prairie style.” This new …show more content…
The shoulder drape is crafted with glass bead embroidery and is trimmed with silk ribbon. The bag itself is composed of two rectangles, presumably made out of leather hide. The body of the bag has elaborate hand-stitched bead embroidery, while the back rectangle that would represent the opening is also decorated with a band of beadwork. The next object is the Painted elk hide, created by Cadzi Cody who was a member of the Eastern Shoshone tribe. Painting on animal hides was a longstanding tradition of many Native American tribes in the United States. These paintings recorded scenes from history, and usually involved animal motifs. This painted elk hide is made of natural pigments, such as red ochre and chalk. These pigments were usually either stenciled or painted freehand on elk, deer, or buffalo hides. This particular hide depicts the sacred Sun Dance and the Grass Dance, which were traditional dances performed by the Eastern Shoshones. The Sun Dance is represented through a buffalo head, which is hung between a forked tree with an eagle flying above