Hand-Made Deer Hide Dolls by Tatakwan
In 2003 I received a grant from the Canada Council to travel to Salt Lake City and do an Aboriginal Artists collaborative exchange with Northern Arapaho/Seneca artist and traditional dancer, Dallin Maybee. Dallin has danced with the internationally renowned Native American Dance Theater and he is well known for his beadwork regalia. He won Best in Show, Best of Division and Best of Classification artist at the prestigous Santa Fe Indian Art Market in 2007 for his children’s books featuring fully bead-worked, ledger style artwork covers.
Dallin is also an adept doll-maker, and this was the focus of our exchange. I was blessed to have the opportunity to learn this timeless and now rare craft from such a talented and knowledgeable artist. During our exchange, I also gleaned additional doll-making tips and knowledge from Dallin’s brother, Critter Williams, himself a talented and well respected artist.
Native doll-making is much more than toy-making. It was used by Native American people for countless generations as a means to pass on important social & cultural information to children. Playing with and making dolls was a typical way for First Nations youngsters, usually girls, to learn fundamental skills needed to make clothing and other items imperative to the survival and abundance of her family and community. And like those of all cultures, Cree children used doll-play to learn, understand and develop social skills and cultural paradigms.
I did a lot of research for my first doll, and continue this practice. She is pictured below as ‘Cree Doll’. She wears turn of the century Plains Cree clothing and accessories, including a deer-tail dress and the facial tattoos commonly worn by women in our culture at that time.
I like to make my dolls historically accurate, whether their outfits are from a past or contemporary era. Their clothing and accessories are true to materials traditionally used for adult clothing or regalia. Bodies, clothing and moccasins are made from ‘brain-tanned’ deer hide which is tanned and smoked in the traditional way, using no chemicals. The hair is horse hair, and the beadwork on the dolls’ clothing is done in the tiniest ‘size 10′ hand-cut glass beads available. The small horses on ‘Horse Doll’, who wears a more contemporary powwow-style dress, are hand-painted (the horses were too tiny to bead!). Some other materials used to create the dolls include porcupine quills, abalone shell, small birds wings or feathers, satin ribbon, and animal fur.
Some of my dolls also have a unique contemporary ‘twist’ in that I build them on movable wooden maquettes. Since before I created my first doll, I always planned to eventually use them in animation projects, so I needed a way to make them movable. I’m currently working on my first animated doll project. If you would like to keep updated on the completion of this and other new works, I welcome you to join my email list if you haven’t already. You can do this by signing up for my free wallpaper or ebook.
I’ve also incorporated another plains-style traditional Native doll into a video installation piece called imperfect doll (now in the collection of the UBC Museum of Anthropology). This doll sits in a little deer-hide chair and watches herself being created on a small tv. She also has a statement hand-written in Cree all over her dress. You can read more about imperfect doll (like why she is faceless and what the writing on her dress says) on the installation section of my sister site, JudeNorris.com.
Push the button below to see doll order information in the Tatakwan shop.
