Female doll with buckskin dress, beaded shoulders and bodice with geometric designs
Wooden doll with bead eyes and fish skin boots
Female doll with red cloth top with bead necklace and concha belt / Native American; Navajo (Diné)
Essay/Description
Female. Red cloth top with bead necklace. Blue skirt with white polka dots. Simulated concha belt. Cloth footwear. Loop bead earrings. Ink-drawn features.
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).