Blanket Strip

ClassificationsTextiles-components-borders or trim

Culture Sioux

Datec 1880

MediumGlass beads, cotton thread and leather

DimensionsOverall: 4 x 62 1/4 in. (10.2 x 158.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Junius & Angeline Holte

Object number86.30.1

DescriptionThis beaded blanket strip was made by one of the cultures of the Great Plains around the end of the 19th century, the Sioux. While these beaded strips were originally sewn onto blankets and used to join sections of fabric to create robes, by the 1890s they were being created as standalone objects which previous Bowers curators explained were used in courtship. While this example features many of the usual motifs seen on Sioux and Lakota beaded blanket strips including the Cangleska Wakan or Sacred Hoop—the circular motif with spokes which denotes the interconnectedness of all things—the standard palette of white, blue, and red also made it easy for the Sioux artist to include a repeated American flag motif. It is difficult to say what exactly the impetus for using the Star-Spangled Banner might have been. Certainly, this blanket strip is far from the only example which includes the American flag. The most likely explanation is a growing number of these strips were being made for purchase outside of Sioux communities.

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