Central Plains. This club would be carried in dances as a something that gave status and position to a man for instance the Buffalo Dance Society. Should not have any restrictions as these were individual ownership.

Special Improvement Fund

Dick S. Ramsay Fund

This headdress is constructed on a base of red Stroud cloth, formed into a band and decorated with beadwork in a series of "filled triangles." Blue triangular outlines filled with white beads alternate with white outlines filled with blue. A line of white beads is also attached at the lower edge of the red band. Horsehair that has been dyed red is inserted on the top of the band and a ribbon, once green, is tied on at both ends for fastening. An ear lock of horse hair is tied with sinew onto hide thong and a fine crewel yarn cord is hand plaited at the edge where the horsehair is attached.

Otter skin tied with hide possibly as a pendent. There is no evidence of any scalp lock attached. Designation comes from original purchase book by curator Stewart Culin. According to Sean Standing Bear 10/24/2000) the hair attached to it is buffalo "fluff."

Dick S. Ramsay Fund

The object is a bow, a bow case, arrows and a quiver. Bow is inlaid with elk antler and decorated with bands of mallard duck neck skin. There is red dyed horsehair tufts at each end. Duck skin is used because for the Sioux the duck appears in all three levels of the world - sky, water and earth. The buffalo hide bow and quiver case has red and black pigment mixed with glue. Even lines of glue are used to create lines around the black triangles. The bow has an elaborate design on the surface created by inlaid sections of elk horn. On either side of the inlaid area is a red painted band, at the ends of which are mallard scalp feathers that have almost disappeared. The bow is backed with white-painted thread. Attached to each end of the bow are red horsehair ornaments. Also attached is a strip of red stroud cloth fastened around the handgrip. The bow case and quiver are made of buffalo hide and have sparsely painted designs. There are five configured designs: two on each side of the bow case and one on the quiver. The designs are made up of elongated diamond shapes divided in half with a small linking section between each repeated triangular part. All parts of the design are delineated with thin impressed lines. The triangles are filled in alternately with dark brown and red color. The small linking section is brown. The intensity of the colors is pale, perhaps from an application of sizing. From the bottom of the bow case hang hide tabs, with pierced decorations.

The saddle is constructed as a heavy pad, enclosed within a durable covering of smoked skins. The skins were cut in an hourglass shape and then sewn together with sinew. The pad itself is stuffed with deer of buffalo hair or, possibly grass as a cushion. A large rectangular piece of Stroud cloth, now brown, has been attached across the center of the saddle. It is finished with two lobe-like shapes and edged with white beads. The seams of the pad are edged with multi-colored quillwork in yellow, light blue, lavender, orange, brown, black and white. Black cotton fringe has been attached to the two narrow ends of the saddle. On each of the longer sides are four elongated cloth tabs, red at the center, tan at the edges and beaded with small geometric forms and lines in white, blue and orange. The tabs are trimmed at the bottom with deer hair tufts and interspersed with a fringe of large black, blue and amber glass beads. A cloth rosette decorates each of the four corners of the pad, containing four interconnected lobes that are fashioned in red, blue and black silk and Stroud cloth and ornamented with beads. Below each rosette are appliquéd lozenge forms or pointed ovals, containing two small triangles placed back to back, also edged with white beads. The remnants of what might be stirrup leathers are concealed under the cloth. They are covered by a lighter, softer skin (deer?). The strap remnants seem to be recycled from some other object - - one side has a green, black and red painted design. Some native repair is evident. See Jarvis supplemental file Arts of Americas office.

Also has a number 33 on it. This pipe stem has very nice Sioux quillwork, very tiny and tight woven bands.