A Dakota-language hymnal covered in animal hide and embroidered with porcupine quills.
Creator: Unknown Dakota Artist
Date of Creation: Published in 1885, decorated by an unknown Dakota artist before 1898.
Place of origin: Published in New York; embellished in South Dakota, probably the present-day Yankton Indian Reservation
Physical measurements: 172 pages; 14 cm.
Materials: Animal hide, porcupine quill, fabric and thread
Process by which it was made: Embroidery
Current location: Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University
Further Reading
Bebbington, Julia M. Quillwork of the Plains. Calgary: Glenbow-Alberta Institute, 1982.
Deloria, Philip J. Becoming Mary Sully: Toward an American Indian Abstract. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019.
Hail, Barbara A. “Beaded Bibles and Victory Pouches: Twentieth Century Lakota Honoring Gifts.” American Indian Art Magazine 13, no. 3 (1988): 40–47.
Hyman, Colette A. Dakota Women’s Work: Creativity, Culture, and Exile. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012.
Lyford, Carrie A. Quill and Beadwork of the Western Sioux. Lawrence, KS: Haskell Institute, 1940.
Information contributed by Daniel Radus.