AMERICAN INDIAN ARTFAMILYGALLERYGUIDE

Arctic Ocean

Gulf of Alaska

Labrador Sea

Baffin Bay

Hudson Bay

Gulf of Mexico

Pacific Ocean

AtlanticOcean

Sub-arctic

Northwest Coast

Plateau

Great BasinPlains

Woodlands

Southwest

California

Arctic

Arctic

Start your adventure in Gallery 206!

American Indian Culture Areas of North America

Numbers indicate culture area of each object highlighted in this guide.

2

3

4

567

81

Mary Ebbetts Hunt hand wove this robe out of mountain goat wool, yarn and shredded cedar bark. The robe is often called a dancing blanket. It is worn during ceremonial dances. The fringe would sway with movement.

Count how many eyes you see.

Find eyes that are part of a face.

How many faces can you fi nd?

Dancing Blanket1 Mobile Guide #523

2

Check out a free iPod Touch to connect to our mobile guide. Or with your own smartphone, visit naguide.org for the application. Look for this symbol to listen and learn more.

Arctic Ocean

Gulf of Alaska

Labrador Sea

Baffin Bay

Hudson Bay

Gulf of Mexico

Pacific Ocean

AtlanticOcean

Sub-arctic

Northwest Coast

Plateau

Great BasinPlains

Woodlands

Southwest

California

Arctic

Arctic

Bow and Arrows

Walk around this case and look for the bow and arrows.

See the different types of materials.

Notice the animal skins.

Find the glass beads.

Imagine yourself wearing this bow case and quiver set. Would you feel proud wearing it?

3

Roxanne Swentzell made this Pueblo sacred clown, or Kosha, out of clay. Swentzell says, “We don’t always take the time to notice things; this Pueblo clown is reminding us to.”

Look for clay jars and bowls in nearby cases.

How many can you fi nd with birds and animals?

What would you like to make out of clay?

Noticing Everything2 Mobile Guide #517

3

The maker of this rawhide shield painted an image of a buffalo on its deerskin cover. The buffalo appeared as a guardian spirit for the shield’s owner, after a long period of prayer and not eating.

Think about what animal would protect you. Paper or Cornhusk?

4 Mobile Guide #514

Notice the shapes and beautiful colors.

This fi nely woven bag is made of cornhusks, hemp and yarn. People originally used these bags to hold food.

Look at the other bag in this case. It is painted with fl owers in the design.

Which is your favorite?

Why?

Does a member of your group have a different favorite?

Buffalo Shield5 Mobile Guide #511

4

Look for different sizes and colors of hawk, raven and dyed owl feathers.

Each of the eagle feathers in this war bonnet represents a war honor. The headdress symbolizes the owner’s bravery and duty to his people.

The headdress would drag on the ground if you wore it in the museum. Imagine wearing it on a horse, racing across the prairie in the wind.

What would it feel like to wear the headdress on a horse?

Draw an animal on this shield to guard you.

Draw

War Bonnet6 Mobile Guide #509

5

A boy wore this beaded shirt during parades, ceremonies and celebrations. People associated the diamond pattern with the lizard. They believed the lizard’s power protected the wearer.

Why a lizard? Lizards are fast, agile and hard to catch.

Boy’s Shirt7

Draw a pattern on the shirt that represents an animal.

6

The maker of this buffalo skin coat decorated it with painted patterns, beads, porcupine quills and red deer hair.

Find the red deer hair at the ends of the quill-wrapped fringes on the shoulder.

How many different patterns can you see?

Turn your back to the coat. From memory, describe your favorite pattern to someone in your group. Can they guess where it is?

Captain’s Coat8 Mobile Guide #502

5. Shield, Arikara, North Dakota, ca. 1850. Buffalo rawhide, native leather and native pigment. Purchase: the Donald D. Jones Fund for American Indian Art, 2004.35.

6. Eagle Feather Headdress, Northern Cheyenne, Montana, ca. 1875. Eagle, hawk, owl and raven feathers, rawhide, native leather, wool and cotton cloth, glass beads, ermine skin, silk ribbon and horsehair. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 31-125/38.

7. Boy’s Shirt, Crow, Montana, ca. 1880. Crow. Native leather, glass beads, muslin and cotton cloth. Gift of Daniel R. Anthony III and Eleanor Anthony Tenney, 50-73/46.

8. Coat, Ojibwa, Ontario, Canada, ca. 1789. Native leather, rawhide, pigment, porcupine quills, glass beads and deer hair. Gift of Ned Jalbert in honor of the 75th anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and funds from the exchange of William Rockhill Nelson Trust properties, 2008.1.

1. Mary Ebbetts Hunt (Anisalaga) (1823–1919), Tlingit, Southeast Alaska. Chilkat Robe (detail), ca. 1880–1900. Mountain goat wool, commercial wool yarn and yellow cedar bark. From the Estelle and Morton Sosland Collection, 49.2008.16.

2. Roxanne Swentzell (b. 1962), Santa Clara, New Mexico. Kosha Appreciating Anything, 1997. Clay and pigment. Purchase: the Donald D. Jones Fund for American Indian Art, 2003.22. © 1997 Roxanne Swentzell.

3. Bow Case and Quiver with Bow, Nez Perce, Idaho, ca. 1880. Otter skin, wool cloth, muslin, glass beads and ermine with wooden bow. Lent by Ed and Judy Benson, 8.2007.2.A-H.

4. Cornhusk Bag, Plateau, ca. 1900. Cornhusk, hemp and wool yarn. Purchase: acquired through the generosity of Delores DeWilde Bina and Robert F. Bina in honor of the 75th anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008.23.

IMAGE CAPTIONS

Think about all the materials you just found, from mountain goat wool to porcupine quills! Look around the gallery and ask yourself “What were they made out of?”

7

45th & Oak, Kansas City, Missouri

nelson-atkins.org816.751.1ART

Books for Young Readers• Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote Story by Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes

• Good Luck Cat by Joy Hario and illustrated by Paul Lee

• Horse Indian Wolf: The Hidden Pictures of Judy Larson by Kathleen Kudlinski and Judy Larson

• When Turtle Grew Feathers: A Tale from the Choctaw Nation by Tim Tingle and Stacey Schuett

Books for Older Readers• The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

• Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac

• Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris

Non-Fiction Books• Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places by Joseph Bruchac

• DK Eyewitness North American Indian by David Hamilton Murdoch

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

Books about American Indian Culture

• Come Look With Me: American Indian Art by Stephanie Salomon and Charles Davey

• Traditional Native American Arts and Activities by Arlette N. Braman

• Native American History for Kids: With 21 Activities by Karen Bush Gibson

Check out the museum’s website at nelson-atkins.org to learn more about art classes, performances and hands-on activities especially for children and families.

Learn more! Check out these books about American Indian culture and art recommended by the Kansas City Public Library.