Eagle feather war bonnet, Cheyenne, 19th century, trade beads, eagle feathers, red stroud clothA modern-day Cheyennedog soldier wearing a feathered headdress during a pow wow at the Indian Summer festival in Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2008
War bonnets (also called warbonnets or headdresses) are feathered headgear traditionally worn by male leaders of the American Plains Indians Nations who have earned a place of great respect in their tribe. Originally they were sometimes worn into battle, but they are now primarily used for ceremonial occasions. In the Native American and First Nations communities that traditionally have these items of regalia, they are seen as items of great spiritual and political importance, only to be worn by those who have earned the right and honour through formal recognition by their people.[1][2]
Many Native American tribes consider the presentation of an eagle feather to be one of the highest marks of respect. An honored person must have earned their feather through selfless acts of courage and honour, or been gifted them in gratitude for their work or service to their community or Nation. Traditional deeds that bring honour can include acts of valor in battle (including contemporary military service), but also political and diplomatic gains, or acts that helped their community survive and prosper. The esteem attached to eagle feathers is traditionally so high that in many cases, such as a warrior (e.g. Dog Soldiers of the Cheyenne), only two or three honour feathers might be awarded in a person's whole lifetime. Historically, the warrior who was the first to touch an enemy in battle and escape unscathed received an eagle feather. When enough feathers were collected, they might be incorporated into a headdress or some other form of worn regalia. Historically, headdresses were usually reserved exclusively for the tribe's chosen political and spiritual leaders.
Roman Nose, who was one of the most influential Cheyenne warriors of the Plains Indian Wars of the 1860s, was known for his illustrious warbonnet that was said to protect him during battle. Several instances record how while wearing his war bonnet, he rode back and forth before soldiers of the United States Army and, despite being fired upon, was left unscathed.[2]
While women have traditional regalia that can include other types of headdresses, historically women did not wear the most common style of Plains warbonnet. However, in recent years a few First Nations women who have attained a very high level of respect in their communities have been ceremonially gifted with headdresses of the type that were formerly only worn by men.[3]
Due to their historical importance and status, traditional Native Americans now consider the wearing of headdresses without the express permission of tribal leaders to be an affront to their culture and traditions.[4][5] Consequently, in cases where non-Native political leaders have been symbolically allowed to wear the headdress, this has caused controversy.[3]
Plains-style war bonnets are made out of eagle feathers because the eagle is considered by most tribes of the Interior Plains to be the greatest and most powerful of all birds. Under current United States federal legislation, the eagle feather law enables Native Americans to continue using eagle feathers in their traditional spiritual and cultural practices. The exemption is contained within the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. In the United States, only enrolled members of a federally recognized Native American tribe may legally collect or possess eagle feathers.[6]
One traditional method of acquiring feathers for war bonnets is to pluck the most mature tail feathers of young eagles while still in the nest. This can be done three times before the feathers do not grow back. As many as thirty-six feathers can be collected in this manner. If care is taken in not disturbing the nest, this method can be repeated yearly.[7]
Plains Indians use eagle feathers as the most significant part of the headdress to represent honor and respect. Some Plains-style bonnet forms are the "horned" bonnet, "flaring" eagle feather bonnet, and the "fluttering feather" bonnet. The "horned" bonnet can consist of a buckskin skull cap, shaved bison or cow horns, and dyed horsehair with bunches of owl feathers beneath the skull cap. The "flaring" eagle feather bonnet is often made of golden eagle tail feathers connected to a buckskin or felt crown. There are slits at the base of the crown that allow the bonnet to have a "flaring" look. An unusual form of bonnet is the "fluttering feather" bonnet, with the feathers loosely attached to a felt or buckskin cap, hanging at the sides.[8]
Native American cultural representatives and activists have expressed offense at what they deem the cultural appropriation of wearing and displaying of such headdresses, and other "indigenous traditional arts and sacred objects" by those who have not earned them, especially by non-Natives as fashion or costume.[4][5][9][10][11][12][13] The controversy is part of a wider effort by Native American activists to highlight what they view as the ongoing cultural genocide against indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada.[14] The trend of musicians and festival-goers wearing warbonnets became fashionable in the 2010s, and has led to criticism by Native Americans, apologies by non-Natives, and the banning of the sale or wearing of them as costumes by several music festivals.[5][13][15][16][17][18]
An article by scholars Kristin A. Carpenter and Angela R. Riley states:
To explain Native peoples' discomfort with non-Indians wearing headdresses, for example, it is necessary to go back to the indigenous perspective and evaluate what the headdress means specifically to the various tribes, Crow and Lakota to name two, that make and use them. Without such context, it's impossible for non-Indians in contemporary settings to grasp the offense and harm that indigenous people feel when sacred objects and imagery are co-opted, commercialized, and commodified for non-Indians' benefit.[19]
See also
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↑ Life of George Bent: Written From His Letters, by George E. Hyde, edited by Savoie Lottinville, University of Oklahoma Press (1968), hardcover, 390 pages; trade paperback, 280 pages (March 1983), pp. 214, 216, 239, 307. ISBN0-8061-1577-7, ISBN978-0-8061-1577-1.
1 2 The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867–1869, by John H. Monnett, University Press of Colorado (1992), pp. 46–48. ISBN0-87081-347-1.
1 2 "ReMatriate was started earlier this year by women from the Yukon and northern B.C. in response to offensive runway fashion shows and “festival wear” appropriated from indigenous traditional arts and sacred objects and sold as commodities without permission." See "Northern-sparked 'ReMatriate' campaign takes on cultural appropriation". Northern Journal. May 4, 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
Hardin, Barry E. (2013). The Plains Warbonnet: Its Story and Construction. Book Publishing Company. ISBN9781929572236.
Hirschfelder, Arlene; Molin, Paulette F.; Wakim, Yvonne; Dorris, Michael A. (1999). American Indian Stereotypes in the World of Children: A Reader and Bibliography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN9781461656302.
Waldman, Carl (2014). Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Infobase Publishing. ISBN9781438110103.
The Arapaho are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
The Blackfoot Confederacy, Niitsitapi, or Siksikaitsitapi, is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Blackfeet people: the Siksika ("Blackfoot"), the Kainai or Blood, and two sections of the Peigan or Piikani – the Northern Piikani (Aapátohsipikáni) and the Southern Piikani. Broader definitions include groups such as the Tsúùtínà (Sarcee) and A'aninin who spoke quite different languages but allied with or joined the Blackfoot Confederacy.
A powwow is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today are an opportunity for Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or public, indoors or outdoors. Dancing events can be competitive with monetary prizes. Powwows vary in length from single-day to weeklong events.
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Bonnet has been used as the name for a wide variety of headgear for both sexes—more often female—from the Middle Ages to the present. As with "hat" and "cap", it is impossible to generalize as to the styles for which the word has been used, but there is for both sexes a tendency to use the word for styles in soft material and lacking a brim, or at least one all the way round, rather than just at the front. Yet the term has also been used, for example, for steel helmets. This was from Scotland, where the term has long been especially popular.
A folk costume,(also known as regional costume, national costume, traditional clothing, traditional garment or traditional regalia), expresses a national identity through clothing or costume, which is associated with a specific region and time period in history. Furthermore it can indicate social, marital, or religious status. If the costume is used to represent the culture or identity of a specific ethnic group, it is usually known as an ethnic costume. Folk costumes often come in two forms: one for everyday occasions, the other for traditional festivals and formal wear. The word "costume" in this context is sometimes considered pejorative due to the multiple senses of the word, and in such cases "clothing", "garments" or "regalia" can be substituted without offense.
The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military or civilian Highland dress, either formal or informal, as an alternative to the Balmoral bonnet or Tam o' Shanter.
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Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or unacknowledged. This can be especially controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from minority cultures. When cultural elements are copied from a minority culture by members of a dominant culture, and these elements are used outside of their original cultural context – sometimes even against the expressly stated wishes of members of the originating culture – the practice is often received negatively. Cultural appropriation can include the exploitation of another culture's religious and cultural traditions, customs, dance steps, fashion, symbols, language, history and music.
A hair drop is an ornament worn by men from Great Lakes and Plains tribes. It would be tied to the man's hair. The typical example consists of a quilled or beaded section on a strip of leather, which was later attached to an American buffalo tail. They could be over two feet long.
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Ribbon work is an appliqué technique for clothing and dance regalia among Prairie and Great Lakes indigenous peoples.
Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or for religious or cultural reasons, including social conventions.
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Redface is the wearing of makeup to darken or redden skin tone, or feathers, warpaint, etc. by non-Natives to impersonate a Native American or Indigenous Canadian person, or to in some other way perpetuate stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States. It is analogous to the wearing of Blackface. In the early twentieth century, it was often white performers, who wore blackface or redface when portraying Plains Indians in Hollywood Westerns. In the early days of television sitcoms, "non-Native sitcom characters donned headdresses, carried tomahawks, spoke broken English, played Squanto at Thanksgiving gatherings, received 'Indian' names, danced wildly, and exhibited other examples of representations of redface".
Bethany Yellowtail is a Native American fashion designer based in Los Angeles, California. Known for her work that reflects her Indigenous heritage, she is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and a descendant of the Crow Tribe of Montana. She serves as designer and CEO for her line B.Yellowtail.
Native American fashion is the design and creation of high-fashion clothing and fashion accessories by Native Americans in the United States. This is a part of a larger movement of Indigenous fashion of the Americas.
The Kansas City Chiefs is one of the professional sports teams involved in the controversy regarding the use of Native American names and imagery, but received less attention than other teams until 2013 when fan behavior at games, including stereotypical headdresses, face paint, performing a "war chant" and tomahawk chop became more publicly known. Protests by change advocates intensified following the name changes of the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians. In addition, the Chiefs have been highly visible due to their participation in the Super Bowl in the 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023 seasons and widespread media coverage. Native American groups demonstrated outside the stadium hosting Super Bowl LVII.
During the American Indian Wars of the mid to late 19th century, Native American warriors of the Great Plains, sometimes referred to as braves in contemporary colonial sources, resisted westward expansion onto their ancestral land by settlers from the United States. Though a diverse range of peoples inhabited the Great Plains, there were a number of commonalities among their warfare practices.
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