Shirt

Every detail of this honorary warrior’s shirt signifies important artistic and cultural principles in Native Plains art. Women skillfully decorated the shoulder and sleeve strips and the triangular neck flap with beadwork. The elongated diamonds and four directional designs reflect earlier quillwork patterns and visually communicate the continuity of Native design. The shirt’s blue paint and lavish fringe convey power and force, appropriate for the most highly regarded male family and community leaders. These men possessed esteemed characteristics in Plains society—compassion, bravery, generosity, and wisdom—and earned the privilege to wear this garment.