A yarn dance belt with three tassled cords on each end. Black and white yarn. The belt is heddle/loom woven in a technique that produces double thickness of textile. One one side, the designs appear in black with white background. One the other side, the colors are reversed with the same designs. The designs are two stickball goals, four stickball racquets, two arrow points and two water birds and two diamond. The tassles are woven in a four-ply technique.

This belt was constructed by using the heddle weave technique. The yarn used for the ends and the interior is a worsted weight yarn while the yarn on the edges is a fingering weight.

Karen Berry, Cherokee artist, 2019.

The technique resembles an Osage finger woven belt. The designs are a combination of traditional and Native American Church symbolism. Ball sticks are a sign of traditional culture.

Tags: ball sticks, waterbird, arrow, Native American Church, traditional designs, commercial yarn, woven dance belt, black, white, stickball sticks
People: Muscogee (Creek), Leon Bell
Places: Eastern Oklahoma
Purpose: ceremonial events, social events, stomp dance

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