Crafting and Decorating The Warrior's Shield

[Danny Bear Claw]

Most often the rawhides used for Warrior's Shields were made from skin cut from the shoulder area of a buffalo just behind the neck where the thickest skin was on the animal.  A large circular piece of this skin was taken for the crafting of a shield.  This large circular piece of skin was staked down on the ground over a hole dug approximately 18 inches deep.  A portion of the edge of the hide was left unstaked allowing it to be lifted for the purpose of dropping red hot stones into the hole.  Water was poured into the hole onto the hot rocks until the steam heat generated caused the skin to shrink and begin to stiffen.  Before the full stiffening took place the still soft, pliant hide was staked down over a mound of earth to impart the convex shape as it dried and fully stiffened, giving it more deflective powers.  After the shield had been given sufficient time to dry and fully harden, the craftsmen decorated the shield with pertinent symbols, usually symbols suggested by the Shaman or Medicine Man.  As stated in the other post, sometimes the symbols would be painted directly onto the shield, while some tribes made a buck skin cover for the shield, in which case the buck skin cover would recieve the decoration.

Crow shields were usually painted with concentric red circles representing sun halos, the circles seen around the sun when a storm was comming.  Sometimes small black dashes were added which represented pieces of the man so small that his enemies could not touch him.  A shield belonging to Crow Chief Arapoosh bore a human image of the moon, which appeared to him in a vision.  Shields were often used to predict success.  Good fortune would ensue if, when rolled along the ground, they landed face up.  Their landing face down, however, foretold disaster.

Hunkpapa Sioux shields were often adorned with feathers, sybols of birds, hoofs, rainbows and / or buffalo heads.  Shields of Plains Indians often had feathers and bird imagery, which could impart everything from courage to swiftness to sharp night vision.

Cheyenne were one of the tribes which traditionally covered their shields with a decorated buck skin cover.  Their shield covers were ususally decorated with feathers and the painted image of the sacred green turtle, which according to Cheyenne tradition supports the earth on it's back.  The shield cover was not removed from the shield during combat because it's design was thought to be powerful medicine that would protect the warrior from harm.

The Pawnee shield often depicted the universe with numerous stars painted on the shield.  The morning star was prominent and placed near the top center of the shield.  The morning star figured in their creation stories and ceremonies.

As stated in the other post, the warrior's shield didn't offer much protection againts the white man's bullets, however, there are accounts of the shields actually stopping the lead balls fired from pistols and given sufficient range would also occasionally deflect rifle bullets. 

DBC

[Forty Rod]

Thanks, Danny.  Just what I was looking for.

Interesting about the convex shape.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Great post, Danny Bear Claw!

Thanks for giving us more information.

[Mogorilla]

Great info.  Now you have to post pics, just warn me so I can put down a drool cover on the keyboard

[Will Ketchum]

Danny, very interesting.  Somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to recall something about a tribe that covered their shields with a facsimile which was painted the same as the shield and only removed before battle.  it was felt that the actual shield was sacred and possessed too much power to be left to casual view.  Did I dream this or is there something to it?

Will Ketchum

[Danny Bear Claw]

Will, it may in fact be the case with one tribe or another.  Alas, the info I have on shields is limited and I've posted most of that at the start of this thread.  As posted above, the Cheyenne would never remove the shield cover during battle, but other tribes may have had just the opposite practice.  I inherited a large number of books about Native American ways and have only just put a dent in them.  I have years or reading and study ahead of me.  If I come accross more info on shields and the covering or uncovering of them I will certainly keep you, and others interested, up to date on what I have found out.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

This is really interesting information, Danny. Do you have any good pics of shields?

[Ozark Tracker]

This is a very interesting thread about the shields, 

In the late 1980's  a  man was metal detecting near Ft. Gibson, Ok.  he found a chest shield  rolled  up and buried in a cast iron kettle. The shield was leather and it was strung with, what appeared to be copper, some of the leather had deteroited and some was still intact and most of the copper was still held together, 
anyway!!

through some research done by Dub West a local Muskogee Ok Historian a picture was located of the shield on a chief of one of the five civilized tribes that were moved to Oklahoma in the 1830's.  I don't remember what the chiefs name was but I think it was the creek tribe. they figured he had brought the chest plate with him and the tirbe, but when he got close to Ft. Gibson he had decided to bury the shield to prevent anyone  from ever laying a hand on it.  They said it was a symbol of his power and held sacred by the tribe.
I don't know what ever went with it,  didn't ever hear anything else.  I tried to locate something about it on the web by didn't find anything.  I know it was in a metal detecting magazine of theim but don't know which one.

[Danny Bear Claw]

Marshall Will... I do have some pics of some shields but when I scan them they somehow end up in files which are too large to post here, but I'll work on it and see if I can get some of the pics in a format that will post here in CAS City. 

Tracker... yes the shields were powerful medicine for the owners.  It would in deed be interesting to find out the full story on the shield that was found.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Danny, if you are using Windows XP, I can email you a self-extracting file to install a great picture resizer on your computer. Semd me a PM if that's workable for you.