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Female doll with buckskin dress and beaded shoulders and bodice with “tipi” and “morning star” designs / Native American; Lakota Sioux

Essay/Description

Female. Buckskin dress with beaded shoulders and bodice with “tipi” and “morning star” designs. Fringed sleeves and skirt hem. Beaded medallions with thongs at skirt front. Beaded belt. Beaded leggings with stacked “tipi” designs.

Dolls were typically made for children to play with and were made to resemble humans, including tribal clothing and designs. Through play, the dolls “were used to communicate tribal values, practices, and customs” (Cotherman 2007, 24). Children learned how to prepare food, hunt, care for children, and make clothing by imitating adult behaviors in play. The clothing the dolls wore reflected the designs and patterns of that tribe or family tradition and often resembled human clothing the maker would create (Cotherman 2007).

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Title(s): 
Female doll with buckskin dress and beaded shoulders and bodice with “tipi” and “morning star” designs
Culture: 
Native American; Lakota Sioux
Date: 
circa 1890
Period: 
Historic
Place: 
Great Plains, United States of America
Materials/Techniques: 
hide, glass
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.909
Department: 
Not On View

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