Cheyenne War Shirt

Cheyenne beaded war shirt of brain tanned deer hide. Circa 1880's. Brain tanned hide having traces of green paint in poncho style, with panels of buffalo hide having opalescent glass beading in bear claw design. Decorated with red white hearts, green and greasy yellow, pink, cobalt blue and white in pony beads running down the length of both sleeves.The front and back triangle yokes have fringe and beaded bars of pink, yellow and dark blue sewn on brown and red wool trade cloth. 16" fringe on arms. Orange dyed horsehair drops at shoulders. Hide fringe trims the bottom length of the shirt. Neck tabs are of earlier design. The "panels" were designed to tell a story. Cheyenne were a people indigenous to the Great Plains. They were a horse culture. Mainly living in the Black Hill and Montana. Their traditional enemy was the Crow and the US Army. Warrior’s earned the rite to become “Shirt Wearers.” Warriors earned the right to wear the War Shirt through great acts of bravery and those deeds were often incorporated into the shirt design. They were then awarded the “Rite” to wear that specific shirt. Shirts were never traded and often the warrior might have more than one shirt as deeds accumulated over a lifetime. Some “shirts” were thought by the wearer to have an intrinsic spiritual “protective” value. Additional documentation available. 17" shoulder, 30" long.