It is a fairly heavy hair on Bison robe. I used modern paints and materials to achieve the finished project as at that time I did not have access to the earth paints I have now.
I wetted the hide as I painted the design on. This gives a better coverage.
This photograph is actually upside down. The head is worn to the left of the wearer.
The design is exclusive to women (so I have been led to believe). It is called the box and border design and traditionally represents the internal organs of the bison. I have heard that there is a very old story entwined around the shapes used too. I do not know anything about this though.
It took the best part of a week to do. Before starting this project I did a vast amount of research with what I could. I tried to lean it towards Sioux tradition. I do not have any actual full pictures of Sioux Box and Border robes. I had to use a lot of modern examples to help me.
The colours as you can see are very vivid, characteristic of modern synthetic pigments. As well as being a very bold design I love the delicate details that are not obvious from these pictures.
I have not had the opportunity to use this robe at all. I have displayed it occasionally at dances. Most of the time it is on display in the spare room over the guests bed. Guests that have slept here have used it more than I have!
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