Museum Minute: Elk Teeth on a Crow Dress Displays Importance of Children

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Some Plains Indian cultures used elk teeth to decorate clothing and make jewelry. Heather Bender, the native education outreach specialist in the education department at the Center of the West, said one example is a 1890 Apsáalooke (Crow) red wool dress made for a child. It has dozens of elk teeth on it that are considered ivory.

“Mother, grandmother, aunt, spent time…somebody had to kill the elk, gather the ivories, keep them over time, make sure they had enough of the ivories to create this dress for a child,” she said.

Bender said this dress shows the importance of children in the culture. She said in Western cultures, some say “children should be seen, not heard.”

“Not in native communities. They’re integral. They’re the next generation, and they’re valued and loved, and you can see that in the care and attention that’s been given to this particular dress,” Bender said.