Native boys and girls have always liked to play just as much as you do. Like most children, they were especially fond of games in which they imitated the work of their fathers and mothers.
Many tribes secured most of their food by hunting wild animals. In the old days, little boys always had their own bows and arrows, made by their fathers or grandfathers. They were not allowed to have sharp arrows until they had learned to shoot straight, that they might not hurt other people. They often shot at marks, and spent much time hunting small animals.
In Labrador some Naskapi Indians still live much as their ancestors did long ago. Most of their meat comes from the caribou, or wild reindeer. Naskapi boys cut and bend bits of wood to make toy caribou. When they play hunting, they shoot at these with small crossbows. This kind of bow is fastened on a crosspiece, the stock. In shooting, the bow is held level, with the arrow resting on the stock. Bows of this kind were formerly used by soldiers of Asia and Europe, and the Naskapi learned from Europeans to make and use them.
Labrador is a cold country, with a great deal of snow in winter. The Naskapi use snowshoes, which were invented by natives, but contemporary Naskapi boys have learned to make and use skis as well.
On the Northwest coast of North America lived the Tlingit, a tribe of indigenous people whose homes were wooden houses with wonderfully carved totem poles in front of them. In the long winter evenings, these natives danced elaborate dances, in which they act out wonderful old stories of animals, people, and gods. During the dance they dress in customary costumes and wear amazing carved and painted wooden masks as they dance. Tlingit children also had small carved and painted masks with which to play with long ago.
The Hopi, who lived in pueblos in Arizona, also had dances for the spirits or gods in whom they believed in long ago, and wore special costumes and masks for their dances. Hopi fathers made, for their little girls, curious dolls that looked like the dancers with their masks. These were called katcina dolls, or tihus. Some doll artists still continue to carve katcina today.
Native girls have always liked to play with dolls. Often these were merely pieces of wood wrapped in buckskin. Iroquois girls made fine dolls of folded corn husks. Dakota mothers often made beautiful dolls of soft buckskin stuffed with animal hair. These had arms and legs, bead or paint faces, and often real hair. Mothers and older sisters helped the girls to make dresses for their dolls, as well as cradles, toy clothes bags, and other tiny furnishings. Sometimes toy wigwams or tipis were made for doll houses.
Many indigenous tops were made by the children themselves. Balls were of wood, or of carefully sewed buckskin stuffed with hair or scraps of hide. Boys of the plains tribes carved tops of wood and often used leather whips to spin them. A favorite game of that region was played with sticks of wood or bone, called "snow snakes which were thrown over smooth snow or ice to see how far they would slide. Boys fastened buffalo ribs together to make sleds. These became very smooth from much usage, and would slide swiftly down a snowy hill, or down a grassy slope in summer. Natives of nearly all tribes often amused themselves with a bone tied to the middle of a cord. A stick was fastened at each end of the cord and the cord twisted. Then by pulling the sticks, the bone was made to spin and buzz in the air.
Indigenous children were taught by their parents to be gentle with each other, and always to play fair. Their games were nearly always out of doors, even in winter; so they had plenty of fresh air and sunshine, and learned not to mind the cold. If rain or snow spoiled their toys, they did not care, for they had the fun of making new ones. June Work, Guide-lecturer
- Folk Toys from Encyclopedia of The Great Plains
- Native American toy doll and horse from Treasures from Our West
- Native American Dolls from The Smithsonian in your classroom pdf. lesson plans
Return to the Doll Guide Index Page
Contemporary Toys That Mirror Native Toy History:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your thoughts. All comments are moderated. Spam is not published. Have a good day!