Chan-Chä-Uiá-Teüin, Teton Sioux Woman

Description

The English meaning of the name of this Teton individual, "Woman of the Crow Nation," implies a former association or kinship with that tribe. Her portrait was painted at Fort Pierre on June 1. Chan-Chä-Uiá-Teüin's dress is trimmed with blue and white beads and has a fringe of twisted metal cones at the hem. The cones or "tinklers" would make a musical sound as she walked. Over the dress she wears a painted summer robe, a buffalo hide with the hair removed to make it lighter in weight. The colorful pattern on the robe, an elaborate combination of geometric motifs, is called a box and border style. Box and border robes were popular on the central Plains, particularly among the Sioux. They are also frequently called "women's robes" and were indeed commonly worn by women. However, Bodmer depicted an Assiniboin man wearing a robe with a markedly similar design (Plate 204).