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The cap, although commercially produced, shows the Lakota people’s adaptation of European clothing that they would decorate with their own styles. A high cultural and social value was placed on a woman’s ability to design and execute beadwork with great technical skill. Beadwork continues to be an important creative expression for women to affirm their Native identity, celebrate their skills, and show their love for their children.
Exhibition History"The Flag in American Indian Art," New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ, August 30, 1997 - January 18, 1998; High Museum of Art, Atlanta GA. February 21, 1998 - June 13, 1998; Historical Society of Saginaw County, (Castle Museum), Saginaw, MI. August 1, 1998 - September 27, 1998; Houston Museum of Natural Science. October 1998 - March 1999; Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE. July 3, 1999 - August 29, 1999; Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashantucket, CT. October 1999 - December 1999.
ProvenanceJack Parker, St. Louis, Missouri
BibliographyHerbst, Toby, and Joel Kopp. The Flag in American Indian Art. Cooperstown, NY: New York State Historical Association, 1993, p. 84, pl. 77 (captions reversed).
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.141.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 166.
Culture
Lakota (Teton Sioux)
Cap
Datec. 1910
DimensionsOverall: 4 × 6 1/4 × 9 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (10.2 × 15.9 × 23.5 × 15.9 cm)
Object numberT0346
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThe American flag has always been an important patriotic symbol of the United States. For Native Americans, however, the flag has had a number of meanings. During the 1860s when warfare between Plains Indians and the U.S. Army escalated, Plains men captured American flags from the army and made decorative use of flag imagery to demonstrate their success as warriors. Around the same time Native American women also began to incorporate the image of the flag on objects such as baskets, pin cushions, and rugs that they made for sale to American tourists.The cap, although commercially produced, shows the Lakota people’s adaptation of European clothing that they would decorate with their own styles. A high cultural and social value was placed on a woman’s ability to design and execute beadwork with great technical skill. Beadwork continues to be an important creative expression for women to affirm their Native identity, celebrate their skills, and show their love for their children.
Exhibition History"The Flag in American Indian Art," New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ, August 30, 1997 - January 18, 1998; High Museum of Art, Atlanta GA. February 21, 1998 - June 13, 1998; Historical Society of Saginaw County, (Castle Museum), Saginaw, MI. August 1, 1998 - September 27, 1998; Houston Museum of Natural Science. October 1998 - March 1999; Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE. July 3, 1999 - August 29, 1999; Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashantucket, CT. October 1999 - December 1999.
ProvenanceJack Parker, St. Louis, Missouri
BibliographyHerbst, Toby, and Joel Kopp. The Flag in American Indian Art. Cooperstown, NY: New York State Historical Association, 1993, p. 84, pl. 77 (captions reversed).
Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.141.
Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 166.
On View
On view
