Post by Moon Seeker on Jul 7, 2009 11:49:52 GMT -5
Re-creating history: Enthusiast crafts traditional Native American clothes, tools
By ARLENE MANNLEIN - H&R Staff Writer
CLINTON - When living in Colorado, Joel Hendricks joined the White Buffalo Council of American Indians and, though that was years ago, the Clinton man continues to focus on Native American crafts and culture.
"I like spending time with my Indian friends. I don't go to South Dakota to the reservation and try to be one of the boys," he explained.
But he does collect and create many things Native American. Here are just a few.
He has a cowhide suitcase which he made.
He has an envelope-shaped case, also tanned leather, which he said would have been used for dried or smoked meat transport, for example.
He also has gourds shaped for use as serving utensils and dishes.
"This is a dipper, a very common gourd," he explained as he turned the shaped piece in his hands. Then turning to the "feast sthingy," also from a gourd, he said that is something that would have been carved by a male member of the tribe.
There are turkey feathers dyed to look like those of a bald eagle, bear claws which create a necklace fit for the "top dog" of the group, a headdress featuring red and white deer hair among others. The prairie Indians would have used claws from the now-extinct prairie grizzly, where cast reproductions were used in his necklaces, he explained.
There are moccasins for him and his wife, ones small enough for a baby, and leggings.
"I sew all this," he added.
He has done fine bead work and silver work on clothing and owns various instruments of music from drums to bells to rhythm makers, one of which was made with deer toenails.
Tom Vance, a long-time Native American hobbyist like Hendricks, said the hobbyist movement came about in the 1950s. Interested persons have researched and helped preserve much Native American history, he said.
"What we call historic, they (Native Americans) would call traditional."
amannlein@herald-review.com|421-6976
www.herald-review.com/articles/2009/07/07/life/features/1042274.txt
By ARLENE MANNLEIN - H&R Staff Writer
CLINTON - When living in Colorado, Joel Hendricks joined the White Buffalo Council of American Indians and, though that was years ago, the Clinton man continues to focus on Native American crafts and culture.
"I like spending time with my Indian friends. I don't go to South Dakota to the reservation and try to be one of the boys," he explained.
But he does collect and create many things Native American. Here are just a few.
He has a cowhide suitcase which he made.
He has an envelope-shaped case, also tanned leather, which he said would have been used for dried or smoked meat transport, for example.
He also has gourds shaped for use as serving utensils and dishes.
"This is a dipper, a very common gourd," he explained as he turned the shaped piece in his hands. Then turning to the "feast sthingy," also from a gourd, he said that is something that would have been carved by a male member of the tribe.
There are turkey feathers dyed to look like those of a bald eagle, bear claws which create a necklace fit for the "top dog" of the group, a headdress featuring red and white deer hair among others. The prairie Indians would have used claws from the now-extinct prairie grizzly, where cast reproductions were used in his necklaces, he explained.
There are moccasins for him and his wife, ones small enough for a baby, and leggings.
"I sew all this," he added.
He has done fine bead work and silver work on clothing and owns various instruments of music from drums to bells to rhythm makers, one of which was made with deer toenails.
Tom Vance, a long-time Native American hobbyist like Hendricks, said the hobbyist movement came about in the 1950s. Interested persons have researched and helped preserve much Native American history, he said.
"What we call historic, they (Native Americans) would call traditional."
amannlein@herald-review.com|421-6976
www.herald-review.com/articles/2009/07/07/life/features/1042274.txt