Hide, Wood, and Willow

Cradles of the Great Plains Indians

von Deanna T. Broughton

276 Seiten, Hardcover

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

For centuries indigenous communities of North America have used carriers to keep their babies safe. Among the Indians of the Great Plains, rigid cradles are both practical and symbolic, and many of these cradleboards-combining basketry and beadwork-represent some of the finest examples of North American Indian craftsmanship and decorative art. This lavishly illustrated volume is the first full-length reference book to describe baby carriers of the Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and many other Great Plains cultures.Author Deanna Tidwell Broughton, a member of the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation and a sculptor of miniature cradles, draws from a wealth of primary sources-including oral histories and interviews with Native artists-to explore the forms, functions, and symbolism of Great Plains cradleboards. As Broughton explains, the cradle was vital to a Native infant's first months of life, providing warmth, security, and portability, as well as a platform for viewing and interacting with the outside world for the first time. Cradles and cradleboards were not only practical but also symbolic of infancy, and each tribe incorporated special colors, materials, and ornaments into their designs to imbue their baby carriers with sacred meaning.Hide, Wood, and Willow reveals the wide variety of cradles used by thirty-two Plains tribes, including communities often ignored or overlooked, such as the Wichita, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa, and Plains Métis. Each chapter offers information about the tribe's background, preferred types of cradles, birth customs, and methods for distinguishing the sex of the baby through cradle ornamentation.Despite decades of political and social upheaval among the Plains tribes, the cradle remains a powerful symbol of continuity. Today, babies can still be found wrapped snugly and wide-eyed in cradleboards. Rich in detail, this book honors this enduring tradition and its continued importance in many Indigenous communities.

• Reihe: The Civilization of the American Indian Series
• Themen: Gesellschaft und Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie und Anthropologie Anthropologie Sozial- und Kulturanthropologie, Ethnographie
• ISBN: 9780806162270
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 06.06.2019
• Größe: 260 x 183 mm
• Verlag: University of Oklahoma Press