Nez Perce
ca. 1820 – 1840
Interpretive text from Nimiipuu Tribal Committee:
"This dress is constructed out of two hides, typically from Bighorn Sheep or a deer and decorated with dentalium, glass beads, brass thimbels, and elk ivories. The elements that were utilized in the construction were aboriginal to the Nimiipuu and followed very strict forms that reflected our Laws and value system. Typically, women's clothing would be constructed utilizing the hide taken from the female species of the animal used and the buckskin itself, represented those beings that advocated for the netiitel'wit (native people) in the beginning and our responsibility to those beings. Dresses were passed down through the generations and would be worn at the appropriate time, and was a tangible way in which to honor and memorialize ancestors who also wore the same dress."
Deer hide, shell, glass beads, elk teeth, sinew, brass.
H 135, L 138 cm
Nez Perce National Historical Park, NEPE 8758