In recognition of the Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future 250” initiative to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the National Museum of the American Indian is displaying two dresses from its collection that were worn by Native women 100 years apart. The dresses — on view until May 2027 at the museum in Washington, D.C. — convey powerful stories about the roles of Native women in their communities.
Top: Lakota women experimented with patriotic imagery as a way to continue traditions such as beadwork. A very skilled artist beaded the elaborate yoke of this dress with American flags, five-pointed stars and a cross. Dresses like this one were created for powwows, rodeos and U.S. Independence Day celebrations. Today, the flag often represents military service.
Lakota dress, North Dakota or South Dakota, circa 1900–1910; hide, glass beads and sinew. 2/5800
Bottom: Mitchelene BigMan, an Army veteran with 22 years of service, wore this blue jingle dress during the 2013 inaugural parade for former U.S. President Barack Obama. Patches representing BigMan’s military service adorn the sleeves and back. She served in Germany, Korea and two tours in Iraq before retiring as a sergeant first class in 2009.
Native American Women Warriors color guard dress, Mitchelene BigMan (Apsáalooke [Crow]/Hidatsa) and Toni Eaglefeathers (Northern Cheyenne), 2010; synthetic fabric, cotton cloth, metal cones, military patches, sequins and thread. 26/9335
Photos by NMAI Staff
Created during the early 1900s, the Lakota hide dress is elaborately beaded with American flags, five-pointed stars, a cross and other designs. While it might be surprising to see Native clothing depicting American patriotic imagery, Native Americans were experiencing significant changes in their cultural traditions and lifeways during this period. As they adapted to reservation life, Lakota women found new ways to express themselves and their cultural traditions. “Something like this [dress] would be brought out on special occasions,” explained Hunkpapa and Oglala Lakota dressmaker Jodi Archambault. “They would wear it at a powwow when the [government] agents let them, because our ceremonies, dances and gatherings were outlawed for many, many decades. But this dress was an eye-catcher. It was the dazzler. Whoever wore this dress, everybody in the entire eyeshot of it could tell how much they were loved.”
A century later, members of the Native American Women Warriors (NAWW), the first all-female Native Color Guard, created this blue jingle dress. Native dressmakers have always honored men’s actions in war, but this contemporary dress recognizes the military service of Native women. U.S. Army veteran Mitchelene BigMan (Apsáalooke [Crow]/ Hidatsa) and Toni Eaglefeathers (Northern Cheyenne), a master sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves designed the dress, which combines the traditional jingle dress with modern military symbolism. “A jingle dress is a dress of healing,” BigMan explained. “Every time our ladies go to dance, we are dancing for all veterans who have passed.”
Because this was BigMan’s dress, its U.S. Army patches demonstrate her rank of sergeant first class and places of deployment. The patch on the front, however, honors Lori Ann Piestewa (Hopi), an Army soldier who died while fighting in Iraq in 2003, becoming the first Native service woman to die in combat in an American war. “[The NAWW] wear her above our heart because of the fact she was a strong woman and a warrior,” BigMan said, and because “she fought so much and gave her all for this nation.”
Each dress was created with much care and symbolism. Moreover, the dresses make statements about the resilience of Native women and the power of clothing to express culture and identity.