Plains Indian Decorated Saddle Blankets: Development of an Innovative Art Form ( Signature Redacted for Privacy
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AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Mariana L. Mace for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in the CoDepartments of Art. Museum Studies and AnthropoloQy presented on January 19. 1991. Title: Plains Indian Decorated Saddle Blankets: Development of an Innovative Art Form ( Signature redacted for privacy. ) Abstract approved; - - Dr. Barbara Loeb The decorated saddle blankets that are part of many museum collections are a distinctive facet of Native American culture. They exhibit the craftsmanship and artistic merit that characterize the Plains art style. This study examines decorated saddle blankets from three viewpoints. An historical overview suggests that although the horse and horsegear originated with Spanish occupation of the New World, the Plains decorated saddle blanket was an indigenous innovation. Available literary and pictorial information for Hispanic horsegear indicate that Spanish traditions of decoration did not include saddle blankets of the types found among Plains peoples. Saddle blankets are examples of the material culture of the Plains. In this respect they have been examined in terms of materials, construction, decoration, and use. Verbal and pictorial information, as well as extant examples provided information. Saddle blankets exhibit characteristics of shape and decorative style that are related to region and specific groups. They used both native and introduced materials and techniques. With some exceptions, they appear to have been made by and for women. As works of art, saddle blanketsare part of a tradition that stressed the importance of the horse to Plains culture and used horse decorationto provide social messages about the rider to onlookers. This traditionincluded gender specific art styles, elaborate horsegear as a sign of wealth and generosity, and personal skill as a means of acquiring prestige. Decorated blanketsare an example of a functional object achieving artistic value, alone and in combination with other objects. Ccopyright by Mariana L. Mace January 19, 1991 All Rights Reserved Plains Indian Decorated Saddle Blankets: Development of an Innovative Art Form by Mariana L. Mace A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies Completed January 19, 1991 Commencement June 1992 APPROVED: Signature redacted for privacy. Assistant Professorii of Art History in charge of major Signature redacted for privacy. Professor of Anthropology in charge of co-field Signature redacted forprivacy. Assistant Profssor of Antjropology in charge of co-field Signature redacted for privacy. Head of Department of Art Signature redacted for privacy. Dean of Graduatethoof I Dais thesis is presented January 19, 1991 Typed by researcher for Mariana L. Mace ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee, BarbaraLoeb, Lucy Skjelstad, Richard Ross, and Guy Wood fortheir support and encouragement. Richard Conn of the Denver Art Museum,Joyce Herald and Barbara Stone of the Denver Natural History Museum,and Bob Gant of the Wyoming State Museum were generous with their time and collections, providing the nucleus of examples that made this study possible. BensonLanford provided additional photographs that extended thescope of available information. My family and friends have contributeda great deal. Jean Harrison and Marty Roberts were part ofevery class and many discussions. Peter and Scott Burke provided the computer skiils,patience and meals that made all this possible. Kristin, Kirk, and Susie contributedtheir cheerful expectation that I would definitely finish what I started. My sisterJan, whose idea of fun is a working vacation spent sharing her editingskills, deserves my special thanks. Finally, I wish to expressan enduring gratitude to my parents. Their early and continuing interest in Native Americanculture were the foundation for my involvement. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION 5 LITERATURE REVIEW 10 Hispanic amd Native American horsegear 10 Acculturation 11 Saddle blankets as horsegear 12 Beadwork and other decorative traditions 15 Plains art tradition 17 THE SPREAD OF THE HORSE FROM NEW MEXICO THROUGHOUT THE PLAINS AND ITS EARLY ADOPTION FOR USE BY NATIVE AMERICANS 19 SPANISH INTRODUCTION OF THE HORSE AND HORSEGEAR 26 Spanish conquistador saddles and blankets 26 Mexican rancher's saddle as an adaptation of the conquistador saddle 30 NATIVE AMERICAN ADAPTATION OF SPANISH HORSEGEAR 32 Adaptation of he Hispanic pack saddle or pad 34 Adaptation of the Hispanic man's saddle 36 Saddle blankets as a functional protection for the horse 39 DEVELOPMENT OF DECORATED SADDLE BLANKETS AS AN EXPRESSION OF PLAINS ARTISTIC TRADITION 42 Utilitarian beginnings 42 Horse decoration as an expression of rider status 44 Decorated saddle blankets 49 Relationship of saddle blankets to other decorated objects 52 Gender differences in saddle blankets 53 Relationship of historical periods to saddle blanket design and decoration 55 VARIATION IN DECORATED SADDLE BLANKETS 57 Hshape 60 Bordered rectangle shape 67 Trapezoid shape 73 Four lobed shape 77 Animal pelt shape 81 Textile blankets as an exception to indigenous decorated saddle blankets 84 SUMMARY 87 GLOSSARY 93 BIBLIOGRAPHY 96 APPENDIX Blanket data 101 Blanket shape distribution by tribe 115 Chronology of blankets of known date 116 LIST OF FIGURES Fiaure Paae Documented and hypothetical routes for the spread of horses throughout the Plains 20 Historic location of Plains tribes showing Northern, Central and Southern groups 22 Dog with harness and travois poles 24 La estradiofa saddle, perhaps with a co/in pad 27 La jineta saddle with a decorated mochila and no visible saddle pad 27 Estradiota saddle, made for Philip II of Spain, showing mochila 28 Pad saddle 35 Woman's saddle with pommel horn for hanging articles 36 Prairie chicken snare saddle 37 Pack saddle 38 Spanish type saddle made in St. Louis 40 Shapes of decorated blankets 58 Distribution of blanket shapes. The numbers refer to totals for each shape 59 Hshaped saddle blanket 60 Hshape blanket (WS 21.1.3, Sioux (Lakota) c. 1890) 62 Central Plains bordered rectangle blanket 67 Lakota blanket, no date given (WS 58.18.32) 68 18 Northern Plains fordered rectangle blanket 70 Canadian Ojibwa bordered rectangle blanket, no date given (DMNH 5512) 71 Trapezoid shape blanket 73 Crow trapezoid shape blanket c. 1870-80 (DAM 1985.108) 75 Four lobed blanket 77 Plains Cree four lobed blanket, no date given (Lanford photo) 78 Pelt shape blanket 81 Blackfoot pelt shape blanket, no date given (LMA 2.5503) 82 Plains Indian Decorated Saddle Blankets: Development of an Innovative Art Form PREFACE Decorated saddle blankets made and used by Native Americans of the Plains are a distinctive art form, part of a tradition aptly named "the well dressed horse" (Peterson, 1988). These saddle blankets have been briefly described and illustrated in ethnographic studies and in the literature on Plains beadwork, but there seems to be no systematic study of them - who made them, who used them, when this use began, and why. This dearth of information led me to investigate when and how these unique objects became part of the material culture and the art tradition of the nineteenth century Plains tribes. The following research traces the decorated saddle blanket from its possible introduction by the Spanish to its emergence and development as a recognizable art form among Plains peoples. The following questions were raised: As a new article, with no indigenous antecedents, was the idea of a decorated saddle blanket borrowed from the Spanish? Are the construction and decoration of existing blankets similar to the techniques and styles used for other items of Plains material culture: household equipment such as storage bags and tipi accessories and personal possessions such as robes, dresses, shirts, leggings and pipe bags? 2 Do saddle blankets exhibit the generally recognized characteristics of Plains art which relate to gender, wealth, status and religion? Are there recognizable differences in saddle blankets which would allow for a system of classification by style, region or time? The basic assumptions with which I started were: (1) the idea of a decorated saddle blanket was introduced by the Spanish, along with numerous other items of horse gear, (2) the blankets present in museum collections and seen on horses in photographs were, however, made by Plains artisans, (3) although constructed primarily of trade materials, they were not themselves a trade item originated by non-native sources, (4) the Plains horse cultures were the predominant makers and users of decorated saddle blankets, and (5).production of these objects was widespread throughout all Plains groups from north to south, with recognizable tribal differences. I chose to restrict this study to those groups identified by scholars as High Plains horse cultures- nomadic people who used the horse for transportation, buffalo hunting and warfare, and lived on the Plains full time. The Blackfoot, Crow, Cheyenne, Lakota and Kiowa are typical examples. Horses and, presumably, horse gear, were also used by semi-nomadic groups along the eastern edges of this area and in the Plateau and Great Basin regions. These latter groups were excluded from the present study based on my early assumption that the High Plains was the major location for production and use of decorated saddle blankets. The earliest references to indigenous saddle blankets, either pictorial or written, are from the