Plains (Cheyenne) Child’s Moccasins on Buffalo circa 1875

Plains - Cheyenne

Buffalo hide, Glass Beads | Item 2500

This is a sweet pair of early Plains, likely Cheyenne, child’s moccasins. I like that there is plenty of void around the beaded areas, showing off the supple buffalo hide that has been colored with yellow ochre. The beads are all the earlier variety: deep blue, Plains green, greasy yellow and red with white hearts. On both shoes the border beading goes around about 4/5s leaving 1/5 unbeaded (from the back seam going inwards towards the tongue). The border has blue and red beaded squares all housed within the greasy yellow band. The bottom souls are made of parfleche and each one has writing on it. The right shoe has “Harney” (?), 2 numbers or initials (06)? At the bottom is the word “Pook” or Peek”? The left foot soul at the top has “Papoose Bowdog”? This likely translates as Child Bowdog. Papoose, the word, refers to a Native Child.

The word “Harney” on the soul might be referring to Captain William Selby Harney (1800–1889) was a prominent and controversial United States Army officer whose career was defined by brutal actions during the Indian Wars, earning him the nicknames “Woman Killer” and “Mad Bear” among the Lakota. While he was feared for his violence against Native Americans during the mid-19th century, he later served on the Indian Peace Commission and was considered a defender of indigenous people in his final years.

The word below “Harney” could be” Peak”, possibly referring to Harney Peak, the indigenous name for a mountain in South Dakota.