Prairie dresses, beadwork Traditional attire, jewelry brought to life by Chickasaw women

This article appeared in the November 2016 edition of the Chickasaw Times

SULPHUR, Okla. – In 1830, the first of the Five Civilized Tribes were removed from Southeastern tribal homelands to Indian Territory.

One of many items all five tribes brought with them were women’s “prairie dresses,” a blend of fabrics, ribbons and beading made possible by trade with Europeans.

Chickasaw artisan Mary Shackleford replicates the beauty and symmetrical flow of the prairie dress. The attire is worn by Chickasaw women at special functions such the 56th Annual Chickasaw Meeting and Festival, Sept. 29 at the Chickasaw Cultural Center.

Almost 200 years ago, prairie dresses were worn every day.

“Plain prairie dresses were the usual attire – with apron – for women,” Mrs. Shackleford said. “What would have been set aside for special occasions and ceremonial use would have been the beaded glass collar, ornate aprons and handwoven sash belts.”

Mrs. Shackleford and her daughter, Amanda John, were among dozens showing works in the Traditional Chickasaw Village at the Chickasaw Cultural Center during the tribe’s annual Cultural Evening.

On display was a red blouse and dress and a plain white apron. But bodice work consisting of blue, red and yellow glass beads, and blue and white ribbons, set the garment off. A red, white and blue “lightning” sash adorned the finished garment constructed by Mrs. Shackleford.

“This garment is more representative of what a Chickasaw woman would have worn in 1830,” she said. “My husband saw a photograph or drawing of a Paris garment recently that looked almost exactly like this. So, we accepted a lot of fashion ideas from the Europeans when we traded with them.”

An estimated 2,000 Chickasaws and special guests poured onto the campus of the Chickasaw Cultural Center Sept. 29 for a traditional dinner, cultural events and demonstrations. Attendees also learned who would be named Chickasaw Dynamic Woman of the Year, and who would be honored with the Silver Feather Award and Chickasaw Historical Society Service Award.

As they made their way to the traditional meal, many passed by displays from various artisans.
Among them was Rena Smith, a Scappoose, Oregon Chickasaw who specializes in making pucker-toed moccasins and has won awards multiple times at art shows where she shows her craft. She attempts to stay as true as possible to the historically correct elements of the moccasins worn for centuries by Chickasaw tribal members.

Among the plethora of footwear on display was a pair of “slip-on” lace-up moccasins.
“These are really old, but it gives you an idea of how basic moccasins were made,” Ms. Smith said. “It is a simple oval cut that would have surrounded the foot and been held in place by laces of sinew.”
The shoe, she said, would not have been worn by Chickasaws.

Pucker-toes moccasins are more demanding to produce. Ancient Chickasaws would have made them mostly from deer or elk hide. The footwear would have been approximately ankle high, providing greater protection from briers, thorns, and sharp objects along the forest floor. Tribal hunters would have been equipped with moccasins high up the thigh to ward off cold and nature’s menu of plants that scratch and tear flesh.

“It is pretty amazing how functional the moccasins were,” Ms. Smith noted. “They were long-lasting and took a fair share of abuse.”

Two Chickasaw sisters – Joyce Wesley, of Milburn, Okla., and Ruth Howard, of Ada, Okla. – had a table full of glass bead work, including collars and bodice finery, along with earrings and other more modern adornments.

Ancient Chickasaw women were known to use central parts of conch shells which were shaped somewhat like railroad spikes, the heads serving to keep them from falling through the lobe of their ears.

Today, women wear beaded earrings and necklaces. The sisters had jewelry made from glass beads such as those traded in ancient times, as well as standard colorized beads for earring jewelry.

“We love doing it,” Ms. Howard said of manufacturing the jewelry. “Earrings can be made quickly and so can necklaces if the beadwork is not elaborate in design.”

“A beaded collar can take a lot of time,” Ms. Wesley said.

Depending on what a customer requests, a collar can take up to several days. The sisters learned the art from relatives while growing up in California. Their father was sent west, they said, as part of the federal government’s Indian Relocation Act.

They remember a long train ride to California and recall residing in a two-bedroom duplex when both started school.

The sisters spent their formative years in the Golden State, but eventually returned to Oklahoma because “it is where our family was.”