NAVIGATION

Women made tobacco bags that were designed to hold a warrior’s ceremonial pipe and tobacco. The designs they used were symbolic of an individual’s tribal identity. The quality of hide tanning, the cutting and decoration, were all hallmarks of an accomplished, industrious and talented woman and her extended family of multi-generational female relatives. Individually sometimes, but usually collectively, they created the bulk of their material wealth. A man counted his wealth in the number of fine trained horses he owned. Women produced extra robes and apparel which they traded at pre-reservation trading posts for metal, cloth, brass and glass beads.
Their nomadic lifestyle presented a problem in moving and storing the extra goods that they made and this dilemma was often resolved by giving them away. A generous person attained high status in the minds of fellow tribesmen. Women were accorded accolades for their generous hospitality and were recognised for their artistic excellence, industry and loyalty to traditional tribal identity.