Native American Gallery

Woman’s Dress, Sioux, about 1860
Native leather, beads
Museum Purchase 1937.69.15

Typical of the formal attire of women of the Southern Plains, this full-length dress is constructed of three skins. A folded skin forms the bodice, which is attached to the front and back skins at a waist seam. The diamond-shaped pattern, repeated on both sides of the beaded yoke, may be a symbol for the turtle. In one Plains legend of creation, the first human is carried across the water-covered earth on the back of a turtle. It is from this turtle that the first land is created. The image of the turtle, therefore, is often associated with Mother Earth and appears as a protective device on the garments and possessions of women and children.