Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Get the Full Story

Set of eagle feathers for a dance outfit with one tipped in fur / Steve and Tony Bolinger

Curatorial Remarks

Individual feathers would have been used as fans themselves. They would have been used as fans to fan off an individual re entering the church house/service. Fanning an individual off purifies the individual reentering the space. You put cedar on the fire to create smoke, then use the smoke as a purifying agent. All feathers act in the same way. Peyote meetings are ritually pure environments and you have to maintain that pure environment, Feathers and fans are significant in maintaining this ritually pure and symbolic environment. You have to get rid of any external influences coming into that environment. You can also have a ritual activity outside a peyote meeting and fan yourself off. Single feather fans used. A multi component object for ritual use.

People: Southern Plains, Central Plains, Native American
Places: Southern Plains, Oklahoma
Purpose: peyote meeting, personal activity

From interviews with Dr. Garrick Bailey, 2018-2020 University of Tulsa, Professor Emeritus of

You may be interested in...

Title(s): 
Set of eagle feathers for a dance outfit with one tipped in fur
Culture: 
Native American; Osage
Date: 
20th century
Materials/Techniques: 
feathers (eagle), fur
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Credit Line: 
Gifted in honor of James Bruce Bolinger
Accession No: 
85.124a-c
Previous Number(s): 
TL2010.34.32a-c; TL 2010.34.32 a-c; 85.124 A-C
Department: 
Not On View

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.