Native Americans

In just a few decades, Native American lives, homes and life-styles were dramatically and permanently transformed. Loss of the animal population, in particular the buffalo population, decimated the Indians' source of: food, clothing, shelter and trade goods, eating utensils and tools, and whips and water flasks. Perhaps more significantly, it decimated their revered sources of sacred spiritual power.

Artistry, functionality, and tradable worth of crafted items denoted the accomplishment of the Plains Indian woman. Tribal communities depended upon the domestic talents of the women, as much as the hunting skills of the men. Both, the emigrant and Indian women, defined themselves through their familial and artistic accomplishments. In fact, much trading on the Oregon Trail was performed by the women. “I traded an apron today for a pair of moccasins of the Indians.” Lydia Allen Rudd, July 25, 1852