Leather and glass beads

The American flag motif was often used to decorate traditional articles of clothing such as moccasins. Overall beading is characteristic of late 19th-century decorative work.

These ornate Lakota Sioux moccasins offer a unique combination of iconography, which includes geometric crosses, Latin style crosses, and representation of the American flag. The geometric crosses are likely related to the four sacred directions in Sioux culture, while the Latin cross and American flag would appeal to Christian missionaries and tourists. The combination of Native and non-Native iconography position these moccasins within a larger intercultural exchange. The inclusion of the flag and Christian cross may relate to the way these images and objects were incorporated into Plains cultures in the later 19th century. The flag and the cross, symbolic of the four directions, exemplify how Native artists conveyed their own meanings through the visual vocabulary of the dominant culture.

Kathleen Howe, Nuance of Sky: Edgar Heap of Birds Invites Spirit Objects to Join His Art Practice (Claremont: Pomona College Museum of Art, 2013), 22 illustrated/color.
Kay Koeninger and Joanne M. Mack, "Native American Art from the Permanent Collection" (Claremont: Galleries of the Claremont Colleges, 1979), 75, fig. 253.

This object has the following keywords:

• Beadwork
• Christianity
• Crosses
• Old Glory
• Patriotism
• Tourist trade

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Ways of Seeing/Exhibiting American Indian Art: The Pomona College Collection Montgomery Gallery , 1/19/1994 - 3/20/1994

• Overall Dimensions: 4 x 4 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (10.16 x 11.43 x 29.85 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen
• Overall Dimensions: 3 3/4 x 4 5/16 x 11 3/8 in. (9.53 x 10.95 x 28.89 cm) Measured by Hudson, Karen

This object has the following bibliographic references:

• Native American Art from the Permanent Collection. Native American Art from the Permanent Collection Galleries of the Claremont Colleges. Claremont, CA, 1979
  Page Number: 75, Figure Number: 253
• Nuance of Sky. Nuance of Sky Pomona College Museum of Art. Claremont, 2013
  Page Number: 22

This object is a member of the following portfolios: