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Shields
of hide were used by the Plains Indians. Some
shields were simply rawhide discs. They used the
thick hide from the neck of the bull buffalo.
After shrinking and toughening it over a fire, it
was trimmed and painted by the owner or
medicineman. Other shields were of rawhide
stretched and shaped around wood hoops. Later
they were made from raw cowhide. For
ceremonial purposes they may be made from canvas,
chamois skin.
Museum shields are seldom round. Admittedly, some
of the shields may have warped considerably over
the years, yet at best they were irregular
circles and of a somewhat uneven surface in the
beginning. Shrinking and cutting such a heavy
hide obviously had its difficulties.
Another variation was a double layer of rawhide,
sewn together and stuffed with a padding of grass,
buffalo hair or even paper. An observer related
that a shield he captured from a Comanche warrior
was stuffed with pages of a book dealing with the
complete history of Rome !!!.
Before the introduction of the horse, the shield
was usually some three feet in diameter and were
carried by warriors on foot. Undoubtedly by the
introduction of the horse which drastically
changed warfare tactics, started the development
of a smaller shield, perhaps eighteen inches or
so in diameter. In situations of war the Indians
were wearing little replicas of the shields
around their neck and in their hair instead of
taking the real shield.
Multiple painted shieldcovers are extremely rare,
and restricted to the oldest surviving shields.
It is interesting to note that, despite the
deeply personal nature of a warshield, one of the
most prized trophies from a battlefield was
another warrior's shield.
Due to this very personal source of inspiration
the warshield was one of the most individual
expressions of regional art.
The final step was the all important decoration.
Paint was always used to depict personal symbols,
and dreams or to represent the various tribal
clan's ( Bear, Dog, Turtle, etc.). Favorite
adornments included feathers, "trade"
cloth, hair, and medicine bags containing sacred
objects.
Each warrior painted on his personal magic design,
and often believed it was the design that
protected him, not the shield.
Symbolic decorations were most painted on a
shield cover.
Warshields were carried by almost every Plains
warrior. Highly prized for its medicine power,
the shield’s symbols often came from a
vision and had personal meaning for the owner. In
some tribes, shields with a common design were
carried by members of a society.
The war shield was a sacred object to the Plains
Indian.
Further decoration consisted of trailers of cloth
and buckskin festooned with the feathers of
eagles and other birds of Prey.
Many shields had objects, such as birds, parts of
birds, claws and personal medicine bundles.
In the days before high powered rifles, the war
shield was the Plains Indian's most prized
possession. A good shield would stop an arrow and
repel some round musket balls or bullets
from the old muzzle loading rifles.
The shields frequently bore sacred feathers and
every step in the carefully defined process of
crafting the shield imbued the shield with
additional significance.
Shields are difficult to find, even in museums,
because they were usually placed with the warrior
at his burial
site. Left to
the elements of nature and returned to Mother
Earth with the body. |
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