quilled baby carrier cover

created by a Sioux Indian woman

1880s

Sioux Indians

• lived in South Dakota from the 1400s - present day

• moved often due to droughts • the arrival of white settlers

who took Indian lands, forced the tribe to move West

Sioux Indian Chief, “Sitting Bull”

North Dakota

A Sioux Village

common skills were porcupine quill work & bead embroidery

Porcupine

Porcupine Quills

The North American Indians were the only people in the world to use the prickly quills of the porcupine to make beautiful designs.

①First the Indian woman broke off the sharp points of the quill.

②Then they softened the quills with water and flattened then using either a stone or their teeth

③They colored them with dyes made from plants

④ The porcupine quills were woven on soft animal skins, such as deerskins

Quill work

(a form of embroidery)

Quills were used to decorate clothing,

moccasins, bags, and baskets