Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund

Probably Lakota Sioux. The horn spoon is cut on the sides and end of the handle, steamed and bent while soft to shape. May be cow or sheep horn. The quill is dyed porcupine. Do not know if really a "medicine" spoon. It might have been used ceremonially but not designated for any specific ceremony. A special spoon that is good example of its type.

Child's moccasin with beaded flower and wool embroidery on instep

The backs, thumbs, and cuffs of these mittens are decorated with porcupine quillwork in a delicate curvilinear and geometric design complex that was originally colored bright blue, red, white, and purple. The cuff is decorated with a scalloped quillwork line in red and green and a horizontal border in registers of red, blue and green with white and purple diamonds running through it. On the front of the mitten (the back side of the wearer's hand) is a stylized, four petaled, red flower with two secondary tri-lobed flowers, represented by blue outlines and three heart-shaped petals that emerge from the center of the red flower. Four curvilinear green and white lines emerge from the center of this red flower and they in turn terminate in flowers with three-pointed petals of red, blue, and purple. This is referred to as "turning swastika-like cross petals design." On the same side of the mitten, closest to where the thumb is on the reverse, is a quilled strip of red and purple diamonds, bordered in white and placed on a band-like field of blue and red. On the thumb itself is a pattern of three flowers combined, a red one at the center and a blue and white one on each side. This motif is placed above a four-lobed linear representation of a red flower, very similar to the large one on the other side of the mitten. There is evidence the mittens once had a fur strip edging. The mittens have a printed cloth lining, patterned with a brownish green leafy or paisley design on a natural ground. The pattern is not meant to show as it is faced into the inside of the mittens. See Jarvis supplemental file Arts of Americas office.

Also called a storage bag, tipi bag or possible bag. The beads are sewn with sinew in a 'lazy stitch'. Kroeber called the design a transverse bar or lengthened checker pattern. Bag is beaded on one side with a decoration of crossed and abstracted forms in red, blue, gold and green. The edges are also beaded with metal jingles and orange dyed horsehair decorations. The two-ended pitchfork type design is typically Sioux. It is Central Plains but not Cheyenne or Arapaho. Bead workers would also do this type of beading to show off their expertise so some were also made to be ornamental or given away as gifts.

The slightly curved steel blade of the knife is bound to the well-round bone (?) handle by a worked sheet of brass. This brass is finished in a series of little points at the handle end and incised with series of simple lines, both parallel and diagonal, to form bands. The sheath for this knife is worked with porcupine quills in purplish brown, orange, yellow, and natural white in a motif of connecting diamonds. The body of the sheath has an orange triangle with "V" shaped outlines at the very bottom, below the pattern of connected diamonds. The panel or cuff is striped. Many metal cones are suspended from the bottom of the cuff and one single cone, or tinkler is suspended from the bottom tip of the sheath. These 'tin-tinklers' on the panel were once quill-wrapped.The leather is thread sewn so that beige ribbon adorns the panel or cuff.

Pack saddle made from elk horns fastened together with buffalo hide stretched over it.

This is a wonderful Warrior Society dance wand. However the handle seems very short, as usually they are longer. One in the Buffalo Bill Plains Museum collection is just like this with long handle. These are also shown being used by dancers in Catlin’s paintings .

Central Plains beadwork but Sioux type shape. The little side danglers with edge beadwork are often done in Oklahoma area. The bell is a nice touch and it therefore might be part of regalia.

Beadwork is not very good. Might have been a girl's project when they used leftover beads given to them from other projects.