Plains Indians
used buffalo hides for leather crafting.
Early Native Americans used animal hides to craft everything from footwear to dwellings. The men hunted buffalo, elk, deer, antelope and smaller animals, not only for food but also for their valuable skins. The women tanned the hides into rough rawhide leather or into a softer, more supple buckskin leather. The tanning process involved many steps and took several days to complete.
Moccasins
With the exception of the sandal-wearing tribes of the Southwest, most Native Americans wore leather footwear called moccasins. Moccasins were crafted in two different styles, depending on a tribe's terrain: a one-piece style made of soft, tanned skins; and a two-piece style having a sturdy rawhide sole with soft uppers attached by sewing. Each tribe cut their footwear from a distinctive pattern; an expert tracker could usually tell a man's tribe by the shape of his footprints.
Clothing
Before trade fabric became available, early Native Americans crafted their clothing from leather. Hides became robes, dresses, shirts and vests. War shirts, worn by warriors and tribal leaders, had great "medicine power." A war shirt required two deer skins: the upper backs and forelegs served as the sleeve sections; and the midsections, rears and hind legs became the shirt's front and back. Warriors decorated their shirts in the tradition of their tribe, which might include adding eagle feathers, weasel skins or human hair.
Containers
The Plains Indians used clean, de-haired, untanned hide to fashion parfleches, or expandable cases used to store and transport clothing, food and other items. Cylindrical parfleche cases served as containers for war bonnets. The craftsperson painted the hide with intricate, geometric designs distinctive to her tribe. Leather was also used to create saddlebags, arrow quivers and bow cases, as well as pouches to hold pipes, fire-starting gear and knives.
Shields
A warrior took great care in making his leather shield, which was valued more for its spiritual protection than for warding off spears and arrows. Fresh hide, usually buffalo, was cut double the desired shield size, then heated or steamed to shrink the diameter and double the thickness, giving it great strength. After removing the hide's hair, the warrior staked the soft-leather circle over a small dirt mound, allowing it to dry into a dish shape. Before he painted his shield with meaningful designs and symbols, he tested its strength with his arrows.
Tipis
The Plains Indian tribes devised the tipi, a lodge made of tanned buffalo-cow skins sewn together with animal sinew. Indian lore holds that the tipi design was accidentally discovered by a man playing with a cottonwood leaf, twisting it into a conical shape, then using the shape as a pattern for his dwelling. A tipi averaged about 16 feet in diameter and required several hides. Indian women worked together to complete their tipis, decorating them with colorful designs of spiritual and historical significance.
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