Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-26
DOLLS PERPETUATE
INDIAN COSTUMES
Tiny Figures, GaiIy BedeCk-
ed, Hold Council" in In
| terror Building.
BY GRETCHEN SMITH.

BY GRETCHEN SMITH.
Beneath glass case occupying a
corner of corridor in the Interior
Building the Indian dolls have gathered
in council. Although it is Kat-chi-ni
the Hopi war god, who: by virtue of his
exalted position preSideS, the pipe of
peace has been smoked by all the war
riors and their little squaws have grunt-
ed approval, although to human ears
the sounds may be imperceptible
The purpose of the gathering is q
united one. The little buckskin and
cloth clad figures have come from the
tribes scattered throughout the United
States to keep alive an appreciation of
the charm of the costumes worn by the
red men in the days when buffalo
roamed the prairieS and the mission
fathers first preached the gospel on the
shores Of the distant Pacific.
Perpetuate Indian Dress.
Due to the untiring efforts of Mrs.
Lilly Mccoy, who has devoted IS years
Of her life to the Indian service, an I'M
usual collection has been contributed by
members of different tribes to the In
dian Affairs division. Many of the dolls
have been sent by school children on
the reservations and others have been
made and contributed by older men,
bers of the tribes.
THE contributors were delighted to
send the dolls" said Mrs. Mccoy. @be-
cause they hope that by tiny costumed
ef1gtes the Indians of future genera
tons will be able to see the costumes
which were worn by their ancestors"
Two quaint little Zunie dolls from
New Mexico show by their costumes the
influence of the Spanish settlers over
three centuries ago. HON Tlash-iky,"
swathed in a blanket and wearing tiny
beaded moccasins, keeps close at his
side HON Oh-yah," the little wife.
whose white blouse, black skirt and
white apron, with a tiny white petit
coat showing beneath the skirt, seem
strangely incongruouS worn with the
buckskin moccasins and leggings up
to the knees.
From the land of the Pine Ridge
agency in South Dakota, Molly jump
ing Eagle Oldshield, Sioux squaw, has
sent two carefully costumed Sioux
tail.
Dolls Show Artistry.
A sense of the artist has been dis
played by Molly Jumping Eagle in the
faces of the Sioux brave and his doll
squaw. Unlike many of the Indian
dolls, with crude, nat faces, the Sioux
dolls have been given shaped noses and
chinS and even tiny ears, which in the
case OF the brave are pierced in four or
nve places as Is customary in the tribe.
and highly ornamented with little rings.
The little buckSkin fringed shirt and
legginS worn by the brave are made
from genuine home-tanned buckskin,
and the black hair worn by both the
squaw and the brave Is in long plaits
over the shoulders.
Tiny shells picked UP in the Sioux
country in creviceS, where they have
perhaps lain since the days when the
inland country was the oceans bed.
have been used with bits of feathers
and gayly colored porcupine quills to
twist in the thick braids of genuine
hair. Lone Wolf" the brave, proudly
wears q quaint necklace of rose pods
at the end Of which are a couple of
cowri shells, which in the days of the
great Hudson Bay Co. were used ex-
cluSively for money, and the posSessor
OF many cowri shells was considered a
very rich man. A tiny tobacco pouch
worn over lone VOLTS right arm is q
miniature york Of art. with its gay
beading and porcupine quill trimming
AS to Lone VOLTS squaw. nothing could
be more deliberately decorated than the
buckskin garment which she wears.
The upper part of the tunic has been
beaded as carefully and deliberately with
the geometric designs of the Sioux as
might have been q real tunic for the
chteftain'S daughter. So also are
the tiny leggins and moccasins which
are worn by the little doll
A pair sent from the Cheyenne and
Arapahoe Agency in Oklahoma also
show the brave and the squaw dressed
In fringed buckskin.
Spanish Influence Seen.
In the Navajo dolls from Arizona the
Spanish influence is again discernible
In the velvet tunic, white trousers and
gay head scarf of the brave as well
IS the buckskin girdle gayly orna-
mented with silver coins. The little
Navajo doll squaw wears the full wide
skirt, an exact copy of the skirts, II
yards wide, which are worn to this day
by the women of the Navajo tribe.
A little Taos couple from their
Pueblo home in New Mexico also have
been sent to the conclaVe. Tiny doll
papooses in cradles made of willow
reeds and decorated with beads COM
plete the family circle of the tribal
groups, which portray so well in
miniature the picturesque costumes
worn by American Indians,