How to Make an Indian Leather Shield

Plains Indian warriors made warrior shields from hardened, thickened leather.

Native American Plains tribes, clans and individual men made different shields for different purposes. Generally, four types of shields were made: a shield for war, a shield for ceremony or dance, a small version of the war shield for long journeys and a shield a holy man or medicine man made for himself. Young warriors fasted and journeyed by themselves on a vision quest, asking for their own personal medicine symbols. Later these would be incorporated into the design of the shield. Although there was a standard process for creating the leather war shield, details of the method varied.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Darts or awls to pin the leather to the ground
• Tinder and kindling, plus extra logs for fire
• Matches or lighter
• Knife to scrape hair off the hide if necessary
• Hammer or stone for beating the leather smooth
• Buckskin strap

Instructions

1. Obtain a 40-inch-diameter piece of hide or leather. Plains Indians cut the hide from a buffalo's hump, which provided the thickest, toughest leather. You may only be able to obtain the correct size of hide or leather from deer or elk. Through processing, the 40 inch circle will shrink to about 18 inches in diameter.

2. Dig a hole with the shovel about 18 inches in diameter and 18 inches deep. Pin the hide over the hole with the awls or darts. Leave one-half of the circle unpinned so it can be flapped back and hot stones and water added to the fire hole.

3. Build a fire using the tinder and kindling. Light it. Add extra logs so you have a strong enough fire to heat up rocks. Place the red-hot rocks in the hole, and pour water over to create steam. Close the flap of the hide and pin down that side of the hide. Continue this process until the hide is thickened and shrunk. If you are making a ceremonial shield and don't require the thickness for protection, this step can be eliminated.

4. Scrape the hair off the hide if necessary when the hide or leather has shrunk to the desired size. If there is no hair on your piece of leather, skip this step.

5. Place the still-soft leather over the mound of dirt from the fire hole. This will give the shield a convex shape as the leather dries. Make sure the shield is good and dry. Draw a circle using charcoal or pencil about 18 inches in diameter and cut to size. Warrior shields were usually about 17 inches in diameter, but varied from 12" to 26".

6. Place the shield on a hard surface and pound out any wrinkles or dents. In your case, this may not be necessary

7. Attach the buckskin strap to the back of the shield so it can be held comfortably.

8. Decorate your shield using other elements: feathers, fur pieces, ribbons and pain.

Tips & Warnings

• Plains Indian warriors invested a lot of time and effort making their shields and imbuing them with their own personal medicine with prayers, fasting and rituals.

References

• Native American Drums: Warrior Shields
• Booth Museum: Plains Indian Shield
• Snow Owl; Plains Indians Shields; To Make a Standard Shield

Resources

• Comitatus: Historical Leather for Beginners