Eastern Woodlands Style

[Red Metis]

I am in need some education here, please. I have seen many references to 'eastern woodlands style'. How many groups does this encompass? Does it apply to the Saponi? I have always been under the assumption that it applied to the widely spread bands of Tsalagi.

[Linda]

My understanding is that Eastern Woodlands cultural patterns applied to all the eastern woodlands people. There were similarities that cut across tribal/language group origins.

[Red Metis]

Thank you, Linda. I've been doing a little bit of research on powwow outfits and I kept running into this phrase. How can this be personalized for us?

[Linda]

That's the million dollar question. Read up on some of the old threads in this section. We know that our people did dress like plains indians in some respects, because of the burial found of the Saratown woman near the Dan. We know that in the summertime they dressed like John White's drawings of the Powhatan confederacy type people he observed. We know that our young men wore mohican hairdos, with a red "gel" in it. And we know our ladies fringed their clothes with feathers. Blue and reds were used a lot. Very colorful. We just keep picking up tidbits as we can and try interpreting them as best we can.

[Tom]

Hello Red Metis, well eastern Woodland style, refers to many things, but today the EWS is based on the "North" eastern woodlands, as opposed to the "south" eastern woodlands, which most scholars don't know biscuts about.
The dividing line is probably the Maryland area, its obscure like all triabl style areas.
If you look at the southeastern mens hunting jackets they resemble the "Aussie dusters" that were so common years back, but were done with deer hides, (it took me 6 to make mine back then), made from cloth aswell and had a cape or 2 or the folks farther south would atlter the style a bit, and cloth was more common; there's a great article on Yuchi womens clothing in American Indian art mag, not sure what issue.
The moccasins were almost always center seam, I am sure that pants for men would have happened early especially when goin to town, long shirts were common in casual areas.
If you look at all the old threads here on this forum and search mens clothing, womans clothing etc , there's some great stuff.
Pow Wow atire is always very different and the old timers would have probabbly considered it "kinda funky".
If you get stuck post again, that's why we are here to help try and develop Eastern Blackfoot people ID through these topics.
have a great day , Tom

[Red Metis]

Hey Linda and Tom,

Thanks for the replies. Why the lack of knowledge with clothing? Was it because of the early and long history with Europeans that influenced clothing styles? Or just poor accounts?

Speaking of SE Indian groups, I found something interesting in an article printing in Bishinik some time ago:

Women in Catlin's pictures are shown wearing mid-calf length buckskin dresses, with sculpted bottoms. These dresses, known as "two-hide" dresses, are very similar to those worn by the Blackfoot, Sioux, and Missouri Indians although the former might be longer than those painted by Catlin. The bottoms, arms and yokes are all fringed and some seem to be decorated with strands of material, beads or hair. A few of these are painted with decorations, pictures or stripes. At least one has a turtle painted on the back. Like the men, the women all are wearing their hair unplaited and there seems to be no ornamentation. A curious note must be made of the women painted by the artist at the far side of the ball field. There he seems to depict dresses in various colors including blue, yellow and pink or red. While the details are not clear, it is possible he saw some women in what came to be known as "trade-cloth" dresses, made from wool stroud cloth. This material was made similar to hide dresses but had a gusset to make the dress a proper width. They most often were made of red or blue material

This has a few similarities to Siouan dress--not much but I found it interesting. The plains Indian clothing and using red or blue material. Hair was styled different with the lack of ornamentation and there is no mention of using copper as jewelry (I think the Choctaws liked silver).

It seems to me that what is refered to 'plains style' was just a practical or visually appealing way to make clothing and was used quite a bit by others? Were there any artists like Catlin that did the same for groups in the Piedmont region?

[Linda]

For the Piedmont people, one minute they were the Unknown Wilderness, and the next minute they were massacred and dismantled. Really, it was something like a ten year period, and there were no explorer/artists passing through in the meantime. For me, the best hints would be the watercolors of John White, and the paintings of the Mandan, I forget the artist who painted them. I think White's giving us an idea of summer wear. And in the winter, I believe we dressed something like the Mandan.

[Red Metis]

Can I view those online?

[Linda]

Yes, use our search feature first. John White's drawings are on here somehwere, at least a few of them, Sara's here.

www.saponitown.com/SaraTownWoman

Google John White and Mandan paintings. Maybe Caitlin did those.

[PatinTN]

Hi Linda,

Daniel Boone explored Kentucky in the 1760s-1770s although he and his family lived along the Yadkin River in North Carolina during this time (I'm sure you already know that :D ). Filson's writings on Boone, as well as Boone's journals and the semi-biographical work of Boone's son about his father all mention Boone's dress while roaming the Upper Cumberland regions. They are pretty much in agreement that he dressed like his Indian neighbors, wearing a breech cloat, high-top leather moccasins, etc. There are a few more details given in the various literatures on Boone that might be helpful for period reenactors.

Hope this helps a little.

Best wishes,
Pat