Description of a Choctaw Blanket

Turkey feathers were not only readily available to the Choctaw Indians, they were useful for making blankets.

Like most of the Native Americans of the historical period after 1500, the Choctaw were resourceful people who used what nature provided. While many Native Americans, especially the civilized tribes, were using cotton and animal hide to make blankets, the Choctaw were making their blankets from turkey feathers -- and not just because the feathers were readily available.

Materials

The Choctaw Indians used turkey feathers to make blankets. There are several reasons for the Choctaw using turkey feathers. It is true that the turkeys of the Southeastern United States were plentiful, which made the use of the feathers practical. However, they were waterproof to some degree, they were great insulators and they were lightweight. The combination of these attributes made turkey feathers a popular blanket material among the Choctaw, along with the fact that no other reasonable resource was available.

Making Thread

The Choctaw developed a revolutionary method for using turkey feathers. They twisted them together to form string, which was then woven into blanket material. Although there is little physical evidence that remains from these blankets, written documents indicate that the feathers were stripped from the feather stem and twisted similar to cotton.

Coloring

Ethnographic and historical documents report that the Choctaw dyed the feathers with local organic materials, such as crass and daisy flower petals. Additionally, the Choctaw used indigo, which was a product of the South Carolina Cherokee and North Georgia Creek Indians. After the feathers were twisted into string, they were soaked in warm water and dye.

Weaving

Once the threads dried, the Choctaw women wove them into blankets. These blankets were 3 to 4 feet wide and 5 feet long, having multicolored stripes and patterns. Using wooden weaving mechanisms, the women created blankets that were hardly reminiscent of the turkey feathers they once were.

References

• "The Five Civilized Tribes -- Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole"; Grant Foreman; 1989
• "Choctaw"; Barbara A. Gray-Kanatiiosh; 2007
• "Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes"; Carl Waldman; 2006