Lakota Spirituality in Translation: The Art and Life of an Elk Dreamer’s Society Dance Shield
Visual Analysis
This shield is a multimedia artwork in two and three dimensions. A geometricized frontal view of a male elk’s head is the center of the composition. The only defining features of its perfectly symmetrical form are the unpainted eyes and the branched antlers. A short braid of sweetgrass and two brass bells are affixed right under the elk’s nose, as if the animal were enjoying the pleasant fragrance. The elk is framed by several concentric rectangles, alternating red and blue watercolor lines. The rectangles are on a field of solid blue, which stop at the edge of the round canvas. Two bundles of several brown prairie grouse feathers are hung above the central rectangle, which is flanked by large orange-dyed owl feathers. One bell is sewn to each corner of the rectangle.Most of the materials of this shield are trade objects, meaning they were acquired through exchange. Muslin, a woven textile, watercolor paints, and hawk bells were not traditionally used in Plains art, having been introduced by settlers. The sweetgrass and feathers of both the Great Horned Owl and Prairie Grouse are native to the Plains region. This object is symbolic of the complex interactions between white settlers and Indigenous people in the late 19th century. There is a long history of Indigenous artists and their societies responding to dramatic changes brought on by colonialism. Settler expansion had a devastating impact on both Native populations and their natural environment. By the late 19th century, settlers had decimated populations of buffalo, elk, and other grassland ungulates which had provided food and hide material for Plains communities. The Lakota and other societies were aggressively forced from their ancestral lands into smaller and smaller territories, further limiting access to resources.
Shields of the Plains
American ethnologists Samuel Fernberger and Frank Speck described shields as “a symbol of defiance to enemy warriors, and emblem of the wearer’s bravery, a pictographic symbol of his sources of spiritual strength and invulnerability” (Fernberger and Speck). War shields are made from circular cuts of buffalo rawhide. After processing, the soft hide becomes strong and durable, perfect for defending a warrior in battle. War shields are much heavier than dance shields, although both were decorated with highly symbolic images and objects. The designs are inspired by dreams and provide an individualized form of spiritual protection.The use of the Elk motif suggests that the original owner was a member of the Elk Dreamer’s Society, also called the Elk Cult. Lakota spirituality and belief systems are highly complex and to summarize them is not within the scope of this article. However, some aspects of the Lakota worldview can be described in order to give more context to this spiritually charged object. Members of Dreamer’s Societies have a spiritual association with an animal’s powers. They can identify with a multitude of creature, including the Buffalo, Bear Wolf, and Elk. The Elk is a supernatural being, a “spirit animal.” The Elk is strongly associated with a man’s pursuit of love from women, or “love medicine.” The male elk has a characteristic call that attracts females, and so is “taken as the incarnation of the power over females” (Brown). The powerful call demonstrates the Elk’s ability to control air, or wind. Men emulating the Elk will blow a flute to draw women’s attention. The bull elks are also characterized by their steadfast aggression when fighting other males over access to their harem. If a man dreamt of the Elk, these powers of “elk medicine” would come to him. After this dream, a man would participate in special initiation ceremonies before becoming a member of the Elk Society. Elk dreamers played important roles in matchmaking and settling marriage disputes, as well as other powers, like healing.
Collection History: Becoming a Colonial Object
The collectors did not bother to provide much useful information on this shield. We can assume that it was made before 1888, the date of the last Elk Dreamer’s Society meeting (Hail). The collection history of this shield is somewhat unclear. It was probably first acquired by George H. Bingenheimer, a businessman and statesman who enthusiastically collected Native American objects, especially from the Lakota. He sold part of his collection to the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and must have caught the attention of George G. Heye. Heye is probably one of the most aggressive and tireless collectors of Native American objects of the 20th century. Heye assigned the shield a collection number, 12/ 2323, which is still printed on the faded yellow tag. At some point, he sold the shield to Rudolf F. Haffenreffer, a brewer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist from Massachusetts. Haffenreffer also collected Native American cultural objects as a hobby, and established the “Kind Phillip Museum” in Bristol, Rhode Island to display some of them. The museum’s collections continued to grow and became a part of Brown University in 1955, as the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.The Dance Shield Today
I made a special trip to the Haffenreffer Museum to view the dance shield in person. It was presented in a large grey archival box. Until that point I had only seen the photograph, and I was struck by its size. It is large enough for an adult male to wield, yet lightweight enough to carry during a rigorous dance ceremony. Knowing this was a sacred object, it was difficult to view it in this strange context. I chose to not take photographs, although the museum staff did not know of any specific image restrictions on the shield. I studies the shield for as long as I needed, and no longer, attempting to give respect to the object and its maker. After I left, I assume the box lid was replaced, and that the object was stored in its place on of the many shelves in one of many unlit, temperature controlled rooms.Bibliography
https://www.brown.edu/research/facilities/haffenreffer-museum/about/museum-history
Brown, Joseph E. 1970. The Unlikely Associates: A Study in Sioux Magic and Metaphysic. Comparative Religion 4 (3): 1-6.
Fernberger, Samuel W. and Frank G. Speck. “Sioux Shields and Their Psychological Interpretation”
Green, Richard. 2009. “I Dreamed of the Elk” Iron Tail’s Muslin Dance Shield. Whispering Wind
Hail, Barbara A. 1993. Hau, Kóla: The Plains Indian Collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press/ Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. 186.
http://www.mandanhistory.org/biographiesak/georgebingenheimer.html
Posthumus, David C. 2017. “All My Relatives: Exploring Nineteenth-Century Lakota Ontology and Belief.” Ethnohistory 64 (3): 379- 400.
Speck, Frank G. and Royal B. Hassrick. 1948. “A Plains Indian Shield and Its Interpretation.” Primitive Man 21 (3/4): 74- 79.
Sundstrom, Linea and James D. Keyser. 1998. “Tribal Affiliation of Shield Petroglyphs from the Black Hills and Cave Hills.” Plains Anthropologist 43 (165): 225- 238.
Taylor, Colin. 1987. “Wakanyan: Symbols of Power and Ritual of the Teton Sioux.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 7 (2): 237- 257.
Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Maria. 1988. “The Return to the Sacred Path: Healing the Historical Unresolved Grief Response among the Lakota through A Psychoeducational Group Intervention.” Smith College Studies in Social Work 68 (3): 287- 305.
