Page 146 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

C H APTER FOUR

pleased to see that Indians were so "adept in the management" of their
blankets that there was "no undue exposure of the person."28
It also seemed curious to fr ontierswomen that the very Indians who
covered their bodies with little more than loin cloths, blankets, and moc­
casins wore a "profusion of ornaments" much like what one woman called
a "Broadway belle."29 Moreover, a variety of brass, silver, fe ather, and shell
jewelry and other decoration accompanied bright hues applied to the
f a ce and torso. Failing to understand that jewelry and f a ce paint fr equently
indicated a person's status, women judged some combinations as flashy
or even outrageous. 30 T o Eveline Alexander, f o r instance, Indian regalia
was overwhelming because of its f u llness and complexity . When she first
encountered Utah Indians, she noted that their "costume exceeded any­
thing" she had yet seen in its elaborateness and profuseness.3I
Rather than extending a modicum of approval to the intricate outfits
of Am eric an Indians, white women, who themselves favored complicated
styles of clothing and ornamentation in their costumes, were less than
complimentary. They were willing to judge the Indian "other" in dis­
missive terms. One woman observed that though "some are nearly naked,
some dressed most f a ntastically." Still another noted that they were "dec­
orated in the extreme of Indian dandyism."32 In 1 8 5 3 , Celinda Hines
Shipley remarked that she could not really make up her mind about the
first group of Native Americans that she saw fu lly dressed. Although they
seemed rather well clad, she explained in a caustic way that she could not
assess them f a irly since she had not seen many clothed Indians.33 In 1856,
on seeing her first Indians near Fort Kearney in 1 8 56, Caroline
Richardson wrote that they were "drest in their peculiar costome."34
White women gave their approval only when American Indian attire
resembled white styles. 35 W e aring white-style clothing made Indians look
less like the "other."Too, such imitation flattered white women who fe lt
that their "civilizing" influence was already taking hold. Esther Hanna,
f o r example, was pleased that some Sioux near Fort Laramie "prized any
article of clothing fr om a white man very much."36 Another group of
Sioux, who were neatly attired like pseudo-whites, struck Margaret
Hecox as "clean and wholesome in appearance."37 And when Maria
Norton came across American Indians dressed "with pants and caps," she
pronounced them to be "the most respectable that we have seen."38