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Northern Plains War Bonnet
Feathered bonnets are a symbol of leadership throughout the
Plains tribes. They vary in appearance according to the tribe
and time period. A warrior who rode out ahead to touch or strike
an enemy with a weapon or stick was said to have counted coup.
This act showed courage and the willingness to risk death. Every
so often, the warriors would gather in council. The warriors
would then share their exploits of counting their coup in each
and every situation. If the council,( which included witnesses
to each event), agreed on the accuracy of the coup count, a
feather would then be given to the headdress maker. He or she
would then add a feather to the headdress as each coup count was
agreed upon by the council. The more acts of bravery a warrior
could account for, the more feathers he received towards his
headdress. Some had enough coup counts to add a single or even a
double trailer of feathers to the war bonnet. This event
sometimes lasted several days.
This feathered bonnet was the first feathered bonnet Larry made.
During the 8 years in which I represented Larry, no one piece of
Larry's art traveled throughout the U.S. with me as this piece
did while I promoted his work. I was always received with an
auspicious response when this headdress was unveiled. Without
knowing Larry and his work, the typical response most people
make as in all his work when shown is, "That's the real thing
isn't it ?!" I have taken much reverence and pride in owning
this headdress throughout the years. The feathers are mounted on
a deerskin cap made in traditional Plains fashion. Caps were
made differently depending on the region and tribe which
originated the headdress. Plains Indians cut the deerskin in a
circular shape, then cut four lines towards the center. Two from
each side and two from top and bottom. Each cut was then sewn
with sinew .Afterwards, the cap was formed to the warriors head
by applying bear grease to the skin and the makers hands while
the maker kept pulling his/her hands downwards on the sides,
back and front until perfectly formed to the warriors head.
Larry used this same procedure on all his caps.
As most people know, since the 1960's, one cannot possess the
feathers of endangered species birds or birds of prey.
Therefore, some people engaged in the art of hand painting these
feathers. No one in the world was more renowned for this art
form than Bob Wells. No one re-created the precise look of the
Golden Eagle tail feathers which are prominently used for
headdresses like Bob did. Larry, along with myself, had a close
relationship with Bob. Bob was more than enthusiastic about
supplying Larry with his feathers knowing they were being used
by the best reproduction artist in the world. Bob reproduced all
types of eagle, owl and hawk feathers which Larry used in all
his work. 29 eagle feathers surround the cap. All feathers adorn
white fluffs at the base and are wrapped with red trade cloth.
The trade cloth was then secured with sinew. The tip of the
feathers were completed in traditional old fashion by securing a
small white fluff and red horse hair with animal glue. The back
of the cap is covered with black turkey breast feathers which
are secured with sinew as well. The sun dance plume in the back
of the headdress is wrapped with red trade cloth at the base and
adorns white fluffs at the tip. This plume is symbolic of the
sun dance which is a religious dance in worship of the sun
performed at the summer solstice by Plains Indians. The headband
is made on a separate piece of deerskin with seed beads applied
in the old traditional lazy stitch style. The colors Larry used
for this band were old traditional colors such as light powder
blue, cobalt blue, red and greasey yellow. When completed, the
band was then sinew sewn to the cap. Six full ermine drops with
tail adorn each side of the headdress for a total of 12 drops in
all.
This is as good as it get's for a reproduction! When people see
this magnificent headdress, they think it's the real thing.
Again, this reaction is synonymous to all of Larry's work. I
have researched over 1200 sites on Native American regalia. In
conclusion, the authenticity and quality of Larry's work and
this collection does not exist anywhere in the world! |
