About Wichita Indian Clothing
The Wichita Indians are a Native American tribe that belonged to the Caddoan language group and historically lived in the central Plains region of the United States. Traditional Wichita Indian clothing was practical in function and varied from season to season. Wichita Indian clothing was made by the women of the tribe from readily accessible materials.
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History
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Spanish explorers first encountered the Wichita Indians in Kansas in the mid-1500s. The Wichita slowly moved south into Oklahoma and then to Texas by the 1700s to escape hostile neighboring tribes. Wichita Indians sparred with the Spanish and later the U.S. military in Texas in attempts to resist foreign settlement of their lands and the lands of their Indian allies. A reservation was created for the Wichita Indians in present-day Oklahoma after the Civil War. Today the Wichita Indians are a federally recognized tribe.
Types
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In the summer and winter different types of Wichita Indian clothing were worn. During the warm Plains summers, the Wichita Indians wore little clothing in order to stay cool. Men sometimes only wore a breechclout and women might only wear a skirt during the warmer part of the year. Winters could be very cold on the Plains, and Wichita Indian clothing changed accordingly. Wichita men would add leggings and a shirt to their breechclout, and women wore tops with their skirts during the cold months. Buffalo robes were often worn over the regular Wichita Indian clothing in the winter for extra warmth. Both Wichita men and women wore moccasins made from tanned leather.
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Features
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Before initial European contact and subsequent trading, Wichita Indian clothing was primarily made from tanned hides. The women were responsible for tanning the hides and sewing the clothes, a very laborious task. When the Wichita were introduced to cotton clothing by the Europeans, they began to make some of their clothing from cotton cloth.
Elk teeth often adored Wichita Indian clothing, most notably the women's dresses. These teeth were considered very valuable to the tribe.
Wichita men wore their hair in the Mohawk fashion or shaved with a scalplock. Women wore their hair long and braided.
Identification
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Most observers of the tribe commented little on Wichita Indian clothing because of the more distinctive tattoos that covered both men and women of the tribe. The Wichitas' name for themselves translates as "Raccoon Eyes" because dark circles were usually tattooed around their eyes. Wichita men tattooed courageous war efforts on their bodies, and lines and shapes were tattooed on women's faces and chests.
Time Frame
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These traditional types of Wichita Indian clothing and tattooing were worn during the tribe's height of existence, from the 1500s or possibly even before, to the mid-1800s. At that point the Wichita Indians had been decimated to only about 500, whereas upon first contact with Europeans the tribe was believed to have numbered at least 100,000 strong.
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