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Ribbon work is an appliqué technique for clothing and dance regalia among Prairie and Great Lakes Native American tribes.
The ribbons are layered on top of each other with pieces cut out to create optically active designs from both positive and negative space. The ribbons' edges are sewn with needles and cotton threadPenney, David W. ''Native Arts of North America.'' Paris: Terrail, 1998: 62-3. . – later, with nylon thread. Designs and colors may be significant to particular clans within the tribes. Specific patterns are passed from mother to daughters within families. Design elements can include floral designs, diamonds, stepped diamonds, crescents, hearts, circles, and double-curves.
Today ribbon work can be seen on dance regalia at tribal ceremonies and powwows. Ribbon work is applied to both men's and women's clothing and is incorporated into leggings, skirts, blankets, shawls, breechclouts, purses, shirts, vests, pillows, and other cloth items.
Ribbon work tutorial on Powwows.com
{{Textile arts Great Lakes tribal culture Indigenous culture of the Great Plains Indigenous culture of the Northeastern Woodlands Native American clothing Indigenous textile art of the Americas
Ribbon work is an appliqué technique for clothing and dance regalia among Prairie and Great Lakes Native American tribes. Deb Haaland
Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior, United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she s ...
wore a ribbon skirt made by Agnes Woodward for her 2021 swearing in ceremony as US Interior Secretary
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
.
History
Silkribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...
s, brought to North America by European traders, inspired a new, uniquely Native American art form. Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
people created ribbon appliqué
Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...
as early as 1611. In 1789 the regime of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
decreed that clothing should be plain, so silk ribbons fell out of fashion in France and were exported to North America. Those tribes who traded furs with the French are most known for their ribbon work, such as the Kickapoo, Mesquakie, Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, Odawa
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
, Ojibwa
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
, Osage, Otoe-Missouria, Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
, and Quapaw
The Quapaw ( ; or Arkansas and Ugahxpa) people are a tribe of Native Americans that coalesced in what is known as the Midwest and Ohio Valley of the present-day United States. The Dhegiha Siouan-speaking tribe historically migrated from the Ohi ...
, but the practice has spread to many other tribes. Initially, layers of ribbons were sewn on the edges of cloth, replacing painted lines on hide clothing and blankets.Berlo, Janet C. and Ruth B. Phillips. ''Native North American Art''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998: 97-8. . By the close of the 18th century, Native seamstresses created much more intricate appliqué ribbon work designs.
Description
The ribbons are layered on top of each other with pieces cut out to create optically active designs from both positive and negative space. The ribbons' edges are sewn with needles and cotton threadPenney, David W. ''Native Arts of North America.'' Paris: Terrail, 1998: 62-3. . – later, with nylon thread. Designs and colors may be significant to particular clans within the tribes. Specific patterns are passed from mother to daughters within families. Design elements can include floral designs, diamonds, stepped diamonds, crescents, hearts, circles, and double-curves.
Today ribbon work can be seen on dance regalia at tribal ceremonies and powwows. Ribbon work is applied to both men's and women's clothing and is incorporated into leggings, skirts, blankets, shawls, breechclouts, purses, shirts, vests, pillows, and other cloth items.
National Ribbon Skirt Day
In Canada under an Act of Parliament from 2023, the National Ribbon Skirt Day is held on 4 January. Its basis was when a student was told it was not 'formal wear' for school.See also
*Dush-toh
A dush-toh, also spelled dush-too, dush-tooh, or dush-tuh, is a customary Caddo hair ornament worn by girls and women during dances, particularly the Turkey Dance.
, Caddo women's ribbon headdress
References
External links
Ribbon work tutorial on Powwows.com
{{Textile arts Great Lakes tribal culture Indigenous culture of the Great Plains Indigenous culture of the Northeastern Woodlands Native American clothing Indigenous textile art of the Americas