Tribe Identification Help, Please

[Diane Merkel]

The leggings shown below were worn by John B. WhiteHawk. Can you tell what tribe these were from by the design?

[Montana Bab]

Diane,

These leggings appear to be panel leggings, that is , leggings made from blanket cloth, usually wool, then edged with a beaded strip, usually in what is called squaw stitch. I believe that they are of Sioux origin as the tipi design was common to Sioux designs early on. I would say these are probably from the Reservation period (1885 and on). (Just guessing).

The cloth tie thongs at the sides seem to be decorated with rawhide.

Perhaps my NA friends can correct me if I'm wrong.
Montana

[buffaloman]

The design of the beadwork is Sioux, but hard to tell from the fuzzy photo what technique (a flat stitch or a lane stitch) was used. The bead colors look proper for the reservation period, but I suggest that one regular length legging strip was cut in half and the halves applied to the blanket leggings. The short strips being sewn to the edge of the flap is not typical of any tribe. Also not typical as legging decorations are the Sioux quilled "tipi dangles"with tin cones and yellow dyed horse hair tied above the beaded strips.

My opinion is the leggings are Sioux, but unusual. This doesn't negate the possibility that these could have been worn or even put together by a member of another tribe, say Northern Cheyenne or even Crow.

-Bob

[Diane Merkel]

Thank you both. I apologize for the pixilated photo, but that's the best I could do with it.

[brock]

If it's Lakota, it seems to have a strong Blackfoot influence. Possibly from when many were in Canada around 1877-81 and stemming from when Sitting Bull and the Blackfoot head man Crowfoot became friends and their people spent time together. ...or maybe it's just Blackfoot or as Buffaloman pointed out maybe even Crow. The design almost seems too simple to be Lakota. In my experience of photoshopping picture after picture for video, the Crow and Blackfoot designs appear to me to be much simpler and cleaner than Lakota design and beadwork. Believe me when you have to repair old photos from cedar chests and other sources, it leaves an indeliable impression on your brain. The Crow and Blackfoot are much easier to repair. That's my best guess.

[grahamew]

If they're flap leggings, the beaded strips are in a less common position. Red and blue stroud leggings have the strips along the edge of the leg, rather than on the outer seam of the legging itslef. The length of the strip is unusual too; as Bob points out, it looks like one regular strip has been cut in half. To be honest, the Hudson Bay blanket leggings (and that's what they seem to be) that I'm familiar with from photos of Lakota don't seem to have beaded strips at all. Don't panel leggings have a beaded panel at the lower front of the legging - something usually associated with the cloth leggings worn Crow and various Plains-Plateau tribes?

You can just about make out that the man in the centre of the front row is wearing panel leggings.

And the man seated at the left in this photo:

[harpskiddie]

My initial reaction was Blackfoot or perhaps Shoshone, but I haven't the slightest idea why.

Gordie,
here we have the two horns of a dilemma, or when you come to a fork in the road, take it..........