Hunkpapa Lakota artist
North Dakota
Leggings, about 1870
Leather, glass beads, pigments, wool
33 × 10 × 11 1/2 in. (83.8 × 25.4 × 29.2 cm.) (left, installed)
33 × 11 1/2 × 10 in. (83.8 × 29.2 × 25.4 cm.) (right, installed)
Museum purchase  1937.68.137 a,b

A Matched Set
This man’s leggings, with their painted stripes and geometric beadwork, match the decoration seen on the adjacent shirt and form an ensemble that included seven related garments and accessories. Such elaborate apparel was not worn every day, but was reserved for special ceremonies and occasionally for battle. It is unusual for such a grouping to survive intact. This ensemble was purchased by an American soldier stationed at Fort Rice, North Dakota, around 1873 for 100 ponies, a high price at the time.