Exploring American-Indian art: making a parfleche - art projects

Arts & Activities, Jan, 2003 by Donald Gruber

The Plains People comprised indigenous groups that occupied the area between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. These groups included the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, Pawnee and the Sioux Nations. These people were generally nomadic and had no permanent settlements. They followed the yearly migrations of their main food sources--buffalo, deer and migratory fowl, like ducks and geese. They occupied traditional territories, traveling and hunting within them.

Nature provided everything that the Plains People needed to live--from food and shelter to tools. The meat of buffalo and deer was a source of food, while the hides provided rawhide and buckskins for teepee covers, blankets, clothes and parfleches. The bones of these animals were made into the scrapers, needles and punches needed to work the hides into useful items. Tough sinew was made from their tendons for stitching the heavy hides together.

Pigments for the paints and stains used in the art of the Plains People were also found in nature. Sources for pigments were animals, plants and minerals. Pigments were prepared by grinding (minerals) or boiling (plants, animals). The powder or rendered liquids were then mixed with water. Sometimes animal fat was used to thicken paint. Stains were made from dyes that resulted from boiling certain plants.

Because of the nomadic lifestyle of the Plains People, their possessions had to be lightweight and portable. These possessions included teepees, sleeping mats, blankets, clothing, cooking tools, moccasins and weapons. Constant traveling inspired the Plains People to develop a form of luggage known as "parfleches." These were carrying bags made of buckskin or rawhide and were used to carry clothing, food and all the little objects that the people accumulated.

The Plains People also developed a distinctive art style and decorated everything from teepees to moccasins with their designs. This art style is typified by geometric, angular or figurative designs. The colors of the designs were generally green, red, yellow and black.

Studying one small part of the lives of the Plains People seemed to be an interesting way to introduce a multicultural lesson about the indigenous people of North America to my seventh- and eighth-grade art students. The parfleche was selected as a suitable article to study.

Parfleches were made in several styles, from folded wraps to envelope-like pouches, to accommodate a variety of carried items. For our project, we created envelope-style parfleches, which would have been used to hold food on hunting trips.

A discussion of the Plains People and of the materials used to make parfleches opened the lesson. With 150 students in six classes participating in the project, using actual buckskin or rawhide was out of the question. Since our parfleches were for display and not actual use, a suitable substitute was brown butcher paper or brown paper grocery bags. Raffia was substituted for sinew. For colors, water-based markers worked nicely.

Each student was provided with an 8" x 18" sheet of brown paper. To simulate the look of buckskin, the paper was crumpled up tightly and then carefully opened and laid flat. Using an electric iron, the sheets were pressed flat. Ironing does not remove the wrinkles, but causes the material to lay flat so that it can be folded and worked.

After flattening, each edge was folded over about 1/2 inch and glued. This reinforced the edges (real buckskin would not have been folded at the edges). Then the sheet was folded up about 7 inches from the bottom. The remaining portion formed the top flap of the parfleche and was folded down. The flap was reinforced by folding the comers over to form a pointed tip, which was then folded down and glued in place.

Students were provided with a variety of visual sources for designs. Many chose to use the traditional Plains-style designs as a source of inspiration for their own. On a separate sheet of paper, they developed their designs. Using rulers and pencils, they laid out their designs on the front of their parfleches.

The designs were to cover the front of the parfleche, extending under the flap. The part of the design that was covered by the flap was to be repeated on the flap so that the entire design would be visible with the parfleche opened or closed. The pencil lines were then traced over by fine-tipped markers, and color was added. The color of the material was to be included as one of the colors of their designs.

With the design completed, the students folded the parfleche together, leaving the flap up, and measured for holes through which to string the raffia/sinew. The holes were laid out 1/2 inch in from each edge and 1/2 inch apart along both sides.

Holes were punched with standard hole punches, but blunt tapestry needles could be used to punch more realistic holes in the material. Two holes were then punched in the flap 1/2 inch from the end and about 1 1/2 inches apart. Corresponding holes in the front of the parfleche were punched with a tapestry needle.