Identifier: northamerican11wiss (find matches)
Title: North American Indians of the Plains
Year: 1920 (1920s)
Authors: Wissler, Clark, 1870-1947
Subjects: Indians of North America
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: IMLS / LSTA / METRO

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round, its presence in this part of the Plainsis quite natural. To the south, we find a combined stiff-soled moccasinand legging to be seen among the Arapaho, Ute, andComanche. This again seems to be related to a boottype of moccasin found in parts of the Southwest. So, in general, the hard-soled moccasin is the typefor these Indians. Old frontiersmen claim that fromthe tracks of a war party, the tribe could be determined;this is in a measure true, for each had some distinguish-ing secondary feature, such as heel fringes, toe forms,etc., that left their marks in the dust of the trail.Ornaments and decoration will, however, be discussedunder another head. Almost everywhere the men wore long leggings tiedto the belt. Womens leggings were short, extendingfrom the ankle to the knee and supported by garters. If. INDIAN- OF THE PLAINS Some of the most conspicuous objects in the collec-tions are the so-called war, or scalp shirts, Fig. 12.One of the oldest was obtained by Col. Sword in L838
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Fie. 12. Mans Shirt. Blackfoot. and seems to be Dakota (Sioux). It is of deer-kin.Sonic4 fine examples are credited to the Teton-Dakota,(row, and Blackfoot, though almost every tribe hadthem in late year-. This type, however, should not betaken as a regular costume. Though in quite recent \i \ rERIAL CULTURE 1 i years it has become a kind of tuxedo, it was formerly t hemore or less exclusive uniform of important function-aries. On the other hand, the shirt itself, stripped of itsornaments and accessories seems to be of the precisepattern once worn in daily routine. Yet, the indiea-t ions are that as a regular costume, the shirt was by nomeans in general use. The Cree, Dene, and othertribes of central Canada wore leather shirts, no doubtbecause of the severe winters. We also have positiveknowledge of their early use by the Blackfoot, Assini-boin, Crow, Dakota, Plains-Cree, Nez Perce, NorthernSluxhoni, Gros Ventre, and on the other hand of theirabsence among the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara

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