Museum Minute: An Unusually Shaped Water Vessel at the Plains Indian Museum
July 11, 2025
At the Plains Indian Museum, most of the water vessels carved out of horns that may have been used as spoons look like scoops or ladles. But there’s one that looks like a turtle.
“It has little legs and a little head and a little tail. And it has one little blue bead eye and it’s cream colored,” said Danielle Carpenter-Chatman curatorial assistant at the Plains Indian Museum.
“But it’s intriguing because it looks like it’s part sculpture and part like a drinking spoon or a spoon that you would use to scoop food with,” she said.
The water vessel was made by a Southern Cheyenne maker in 1890. Carpenter-Chatman said it may have had a ceremonial use to remember a related story or been traded as a tourist item.
Written By
Olivia Weitz
Olivia Weitz is a Multimedia Journalist for Wyoming Public Radio. She works out of a recording studio inside the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody. She covers Yellowstone National Park, wildlife, and arts and culture throughout the region. She produces the “Museum Minute” series, which features objects from the Center of the West’s collections.
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