What does your tribal dress represent?

[sltate]

Okay, what tribe are you and what does your dress represent?
I am Sac&Fox and Ponca. I dress Sac&Fox a majority of the time, have a few Ponca dresses. My tribe is originally from the Great Lakes area and was removed to Oklahoma after fighting it all the way. Our dress consists of ribbonwork, which depicts the floral designs of the great lakes area. Our traditional moccasins also have the floral designs on them. We have "village dresses" that were worn during daily use and also have the very intricate ribbonwork dresses, shawls, blankets, bags, etc. worn for special occasions. I have seen my grandma wear the village dresses to adoptions, feasts, etc.
We are close related to the Ho-chunk and Ojibwe nations as we all lived in close proximaty at one time. Our sister tribes are the Sac&Fox of Kansas and the Mesquakie Nation of Tama, IA.
I am still learning about my tribal history and am familiar with my clan affiliations. I am also very proud of my Ponca relatives and their importance to the song and dance societies.
According to our relative tribes in OK, you can tell what tribe someone is by the ribbonwork they wear: Ponca, Otoe, Sac&Fox, Pawnee, Osage, Kaw...they all have their own patterns. This is very easily depicted at our home celebrations. Our old folks say you should be able to tell what tribe, clan, family a lady is from by thier dress. How is your dress your own?

[sltate]

Oh, yeah....my daughters are Comanches and they have their own story to their dress...according to bands(they are Penatuka) and colors they can wear. Leggings worn for traveling, worn for dancing, royalty and then the "peetsaquena"(spelling not accurate) worn for modesty purposes. They have a culture with many details and rights to wear certain clothes and dance in certain dances according to bands, etc. I have seen as many as 75 ladies all dressed traditional Comanche. Since my daughters are Comanche(my grandparents said that if I married out of my tribe, then my kids are to be raised by their father's people) they are knowledgeable of their Comanche traditions. But they do have Sac&Fox indian names and belong to the Beaver clan. They are knowledgable of their heritage on both sides. My husband agreed that they can dress either tribe, so they do. Usually your first born is raised by your parents, but since I married a Comanche,well....LOL In this day and age, grandparents help with the raising anyways. This is my dress and my girls' dress and why and how etc.

[FancyStar]

I wear either a formal tear dress when I want to look nice or I wear a skirt and top for stomp dances. The nicer dress is used for parades or public things. It is made of a cotton calico with the traditional cherokee peak design.
When me and family got to stomps I wear a cotton skirt with a cotton top. I don't shake shells. I am also still learning. I know that only clan women are allowed to wear shells. If you go to stomp and shake shells without the appropriate things, then the singers and elders will realy get ahold of you.
It used to be women of different clans wore certain colors but they don't do that any longer. You will still sometimes see people from different clans have something of that clan on their person. There has been a renewed interest in these things. At our schools children take tribal language as a mandatory class and all after school programs offer traditional arts and crafts.
My children come from a long line a traditional artist. Their grnandmothers weaves Cherokee baskets and does the old style pottery. Their grandfather does carvings.
We take our children to as many tribal dances and gatherings as we can so that they grow up knowing Cherokee. Not just being ndn.

[AhDay_EveryDay]

My Dresses....

Are Generally More For Powwows Than Anything Else, Whereas My More Traditional Kiowa Dress Is Still In The Works.
However, 2 Of My Dresses Are Satin On Broadcloth And One Is Applique Stitching On Broadcloth. The 2 Satin On Broadcloth Have Different Designs, But Both Still Have A Design That Includes 2 Eagle Feathers, Representing My Tribal Name !
The Applique Dress Is More A Compliment To Joyce Vineyard's Sewing Talents Than It Is Homage To Any Particular Tribe's Design, As It Is Covered In Beautiful Multicolored Flowers With Green Vines.
Some Of My Dresses When I Was Younger, However Were The Traditional Dark Blue And Red Colors And I Still Have A Little Shell Dress From When I Was In Juniors!

[Homalosa]

I wear a Chickasaw stomp dress from time to time. It's waaaay big now, so it's combersome. I'll have a Choctaw one later on. I usually only wear the stomp dress to honor two elders of mine. If I know they'll be at a powwow, I pack the stomp dress just in case. Otherwise, I intertribal and contest in a Kiowa T dress I was given permission to wear.

[acgal]

Usually your first born is raised by your parents, but since I married a Comanche,well....LOL In this day and age, grandparents help with the raising anyways.

I haven't heard this in a long time and it's true. My mother raised my first daughter until my mother passed away. I am raising my daughter now but my sister still takes over the role of mom sometimes. My mother worked hard in trying to keep our traditions alive and my sister and I continue to preserve what we were taught.

My sister has no problem getting after my children when they get out of hand and I had people ask me why it doesn't bother me. I simply say.......they're her kids too! ;)

[FancyStar]

My sister has no problem getting after my children when they get out of hand and I had people ask me why it doesn't bother me. I simply say.......they're her kids too! ;)

This happens in alot if ndn families. I know when we have a family supper, kids are open game. That's just how we were raised, you see a kid misbehave you get on to them. The harsher you get on to them, the closer the family blood is!

[Blackbear]

That always was the best way for a kid to learn what is and what is not appropriate behavior outside of their own home :)

Well I wear the cotton overdress style of clothing that my people adopted during the victorian period when the european women with all their fancy dresses were becoming prominent. The skirt for the tuscarora is velvet or velveteen and is a wrap around with the wrap coming over the left knee in front (so that it could be pulled back to expose the right knee for doing work like fleshing corn) but have seen some that cross over the right. The leggings as well are velvet or velveteen and are slit in the center over th ankle but just touch the ground behind the heel. In the victorian times usually a scarf was worn around the neck but nowadays there is a velvet beaded collar that is normally done quite fancy and sometimes wrist cuffs to match. A small flat velvet beaded purse is also worn along with moccasins with velvet beaded cuffs and vamp.

Although skirts are beaded more contemporarily now, with heavy raised beadwork..white microbeads in delicate floral patterns and scrollwork were more popular during the victorian period and nothing to snub at. Rather fancy in fact.

A tiara (crown but much shorter than the plains style) made of velvet and beaded is worn on the head or a velvet beaded glengarry style hat. I have both and prefer the glengarry.

Before this though... during first contacts.. tuscarora woman wore a fringed buckskin wrap around skirt, and moccasins in the summer... and in the winter the same but with leggins and a fringed buckskin top with a bearhide robe.

I'm not exactly sure how to answer what do they mean. The old scrollwork represent things such as the sun, the skydome, celestial tree, mountains... the usual.. and often a beaded figure of someone's clan animal is put on the skirt or collar or a necklace. You also see beadwork of strawberries and birds but alot of flowers and butterflies as well.

[ojibwaysweetie]

Jingle Dress. :p

I'd love to see you all's traditional dresses though. Seen them in pictures but never for realz. I bet they're pretty!!!!!

[Chahta Diamond]

I wear a Chickasaw stomp dress from time to time. It's waaaay big now, so it's combersome. I'll have a Choctaw one later on. I usually only wear the stomp dress to honor two elders of mine. If I know they'll be at a powwow, I pack the stomp dress just in case. Otherwise, I intertribal and contest in a Kiowa T dress I was given permission to wear.

Can't wait 'til you get your choctaw dress.I'm starting to wear mine now after Okla Chahta(no more fancy shawl).If you want I'll make your choctaw necklace.

[sweetndn49]

GoodThread SLTATE

Hey gurl. Good Thread you have started.. I totally agree with everything that you stated in your post. You have seen my latest work in progress...and currently have more village dreses in tha works.

[eucheefolife]

i wear my creek dress to powwows and i did wear it to my ceremonial grounds when i danced ribbon dance its cotton and it has little light blue lavender and pink flowers printed on it and i have ribbons by the ruffles and i wear my apron my comb with the ribbons in it and my spider web looking necklace i dont have any mocs i just wear my grandmas im wanting to get some puckertoe but i havent gotten the buckskin yet and then when i go stomp dancing i normally wear just a cotton skirt and shirt like fancystar said she did sometimes ill wear a seminole patchwork dress to dance in and then theres my turtles and cans i use when i dance oh and i also wear my euchee dress to ribbon dance in its old its calico and its really dull looking theres no color what so ever and i dont think the dress really means anything but i dunno im still young and got things to learn lol

[eucheefolife]

wait now i know what the ribbons represent they rep. the rainbow because umm shoot i cant remember

[notsocheese]

I'm Kiowa and Creek. When I was a youngin' I use to wear both a Creek dress (gah, they were just hard for me to walk in! I was always fallin' around or something! lol..) and Kiowa dress. However, when I reached about 11 or so I started wearing the Kiowa dress primarily. The Kiowa dress that my sister (she sometimes wears Otoe clothing because she was adopted by one of her friends), neice and I wear is a pattern from our great-great grandmother's. I use to wear the Kiowa styled red and blue dress and shell dress, but now I just wear any color that matches my beadwork. Also, you don't hardly see Kiowa women wear their dresses with aprons any more. I haven't worn it that way in a long time.. I guess I'm trying not to show off my rolls!!! lol.. Nah, perhaps one day I'll wear it that way again.

[eucheefolife]

[QUOTE=notsocheese] I guess I'm trying not to show off my rolls!!! lol.. QUOTE]

heeeyyyy gah le daaaannng but i know what u mean i hate my rolls i mean roll hehe