The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Plains Indian people traditionally used porcupine quills to decorate clothing and other items. As glass beads introduced by traders became more and more available, the use of porcupine quills gradually declined, though it never stopped completely. The enbroidered design of porcupine quills on the pair of moccasins on the left (91.95.2a,b) is unique to the Mandan; it usually consists of a sectioned circle with pendant triangles, sometimes referred to as "sunburst." It is similar to the quilled and painted designs found on buffalo hide robes of the same period.

Traditional footwear for Plains Indian women is usually either boots or a combination of moccasins and leggings. Lakota women commonly wore the latter. The moccasins are characteristically made with a hard rawhide sole and a bifurcated tongue; these are often extensively decorated with lazy stitch beadwork in geometric designs on a white background. Leggings offered additional protection and a sense of modesty. In contrast to Lakota women, many Kiowa women traditionally wear knee-high boots, decorated with much less beadwork than the Lakota moccasins and employing a different approach to color. Kiowa beadwork commonly uses different beaded designs on each toe, and the boots are further ornamented by metal studs and by paint on the unbeaded surface.

Plains Indian people traditionally used porcupine quills to decorate clothing and other items. As glass beads introduced by traders became more and more available, the use of porcupine quills gradually declined, though it never stopped completely.