How to Make a Native American Head Dress
The headdress is a symbol of power in Native American culture. It was thought that the fur and feathers used in the making of the headdress gave power to the one wearing it. Powerful and influential members of a tribe earned the right to wear a headdress. Each time an act of bravery was performed by the powerful tribal member, another feather was added to the headdress. This craft project can easily be created by children 8 years and older. The headdress can be used as a costume or just to play dress-up.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Corrugated cardboard
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Feathers or construction paper
- Glitter (optional)
- Thanksgiving stickers (optional)
- Red crepe paper
- Glue
- Hole punch
- Two-pronged paper fastener
Instructions
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Creating a Headdress
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1
Measure the head of the person who will wear the headdress. Cut a strip of cardboard about 1 1/2 inches wide and 2 inches longer than the measured head size. Slip the feathers into the holes of the corrugated cardboard. If you don't have real feathers, you can cut feather shapes out of construction paper, decorate them with Thanksgiving stickers or glitter and place them in the holes of the cardboard.
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2
Cover the outside of the headband with a strip of bright red crepe paper about 2 inches wide and long enough to allow long streamers to hang off the end of each side of the band.
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3
Frill the edges of the red strip of crepe paper using scissors and glue it in position at each end of the headband.
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4
Overlap the ends of the cardboard headband and use the hole punch to create a hole at each end of the headband.
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5
Put the two-pronged paper fastener through the holes. Open and flatten the prongs in order to keep the headband together.
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1
References
- Photo Credit Red Indian image by Sujit Mahapatra from Fotolia.com
