Minneapolis Institute of Art

Headdress

Date

late 19th–early 20th century

Medium

Bald eagle and other feathers, wool, buffalo hide, cowhide, horsehair, beads, pigments

Culture

Tsistsistas (Cheyenne) or Lakȟóta

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A Tsistsistas or Lakȟóta artist created this headdress, which symbolizes power, leadership, and generosity. Jack L. Garcia, who donated the headdress to Mia in the same spirit of Lakȟóta generosity, was a great-grandson of two Oglála Lakȟóta leaders: Śuŋgmánitu Háŋska (Long Wolf) and Čhetáŋ Lúta (Red Hawk). In 1874, the United States government discovered gold in the Black Hills and broke its treaty with the Lakȟóta, initiating hostilities. Both of Garcia’s forebears fought against and defeated General George Custer and his army in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. At the installation of this headdress, a Lakȟóta medicine man blessed the object with Garcia’s family in attendance. Tsistsistas (Cheyenne) or Lakȟóta, Americas

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