The Plains Indians-Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Plains Indians of North America are the people of the Native nations that originally lived in the vast open spaces of the Great Plains. They hunted the buffalo and lived off the rich resources of the land. Many nations, including Osage, Quapaw, Omaha, Crow, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Lakota, Blackfeet, Pawnee, Kiowa, Comanche, and Meskwaki are among them.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a magnificent exhibit of Plains Indian art, called "The Plains Indians-Artists of Earth and Sky," open until May 10, 2015.

 Bear claw necklace

Beginning in the 1500's and through the 1700's explorers came to the area and forever changed the course of the lives of these people. They brought horses, weapons and disease.

Subsequent European and American settlement resulted in the destruction of the buffalo, the transformation of the land, and the creation by the U.S. government of reservations for the confinement of Native peoples.

 Gauntlets

The Plains Indians suffered great loss and had to survive and adapt through the changes that  transformed America. Art has been a central way of recording and communicating their history throughout the centuries and into modern times.

 Contemporary art

"The evolution of Plains aesthetic traditions over four centuries is traced in this exhibition through more than 150 works drawn from public and private collections. These objects reflect profound connections to both the natural and the spirit worlds—to the forces of earth and sky".

It has been one of the most spectacular and broad exhibits of American Indian art I have ever seen. The exquisite use of materials such as porcupine quill, leather, natural dyes, feathers, and beading is extraordinary. I highly recommend you see it if you're in the area.

Enjoy!

Maria