This shirt we display in the museum is a replica crafted by Oglala artists at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. The original is at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming. The shirt is not only a piece of clothing, but also a very beautiful and skillfully made work of art. It was constructed of two traditionally tanned deer hides and painted with natural pigments. There’s detailed beadwork along the shoulders and on the chest and back. The beads are stitched with sinew from deer, elk, or buffalo. The purple bands around the tassels are dyed and woven porcupine quills. Only men who were greatly esteemed among their people were allowed to wear such a decorated shirt, so let's take a moment to reflect on the man who wore it. Red Cloud was born in 1822 into a traditional Oglala Lakota culture that would change greatly by the time of his death nearly a century later. He is most well-known for opposing United States’ occupation of his land in the 1860s. When the government built a road through buffalo habitat to lead an influx of prospectors to the rich gold fields of Montana, Red Cloud refused to agree to any non-aggression treaties. After two years of conflict, the US Government withdrew its soldiers from their forts along the road and signed the Fort Laramie treaty in 1868. This treaty acknowledged that Black Hills belong to the Sioux People. Red Cloud wore this shirt to meet with United States president Ulysses S. Grant just two years after that treaty. The human and horse hair adornments on Red Cloud’s original shirt might be interpreted two ways. The locks may be the hair of his enemies and their horses, placed there to showcase his past successes in battle and intimidate future opponents. On the other hand, they may be locks of hair willingly given to him by his supporters in order to show their support for his leadership. Both of these interpretations would fit with what we know about Red Cloud. He was a powerful and respected warrior, greatly esteemed for his skill at fighting and hunting and for his leadership as a war general. During his two years of conflict with the US Government, Red Cloud united warriors from different groups into a cooperative and highly efficient force. On the other hand, Red Cloud was also an eloquent and thoughtful politician who later in his life worked for peace through negotiation rather than warfare. In his final decades he advocated for his people and encouraged his fellow Sioux to seek peace rather than violence. He passed away at the Pine Ridge reservation at the age of 87 in 1909. |
Last updated: August 21, 2025