Buckskin & Buffalo
In the mid-1800s, the Great Plains were home to the Blackfeet, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Sioux, Crow, Hidasta, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians. Those tribes were nomadic hunters of elk, pronghorn, and buffalo, and it was on the buffalo that their life and culture relied most heavily. In the early 1870s, with the arrival of the railroads, the herds were rapidly decimated by professional buffalo hunters. That brought an end to the Plains Indians' traditional way of life, eventually forcing them onto reservations. Fortunately, not all their material culture was destroyed, for many of their buckskin and buffalo hide objects survive today in collections of both European and U.S. museums. This volume provides a beautiful as well as respectful tribute, as it displays an extraordinary cultural legacy in the artistry of the objects these Indians crafted for both ceremonial and everyday use. A sophisticated text accompanies the 130 full-color photos.Fred Egloff