Shirt Wearers

The Research of Clark Wissler (1912), Royal B. Hassrick (1964) and, more recently, Lars Krutak (Indian Arts and Crafts Board), describe the Leader Shirts of the Oglala Lakota as the insignia of the members of the "Shirt Wearers" society. These leaders, four of them according to Wissler, were in charge of community affairs. The green and yellow colors of these shirts symbolized respectively Maka, the Spirit of the Earth, and Inyan, the Primal Creator. The long fringes of human hair were one of their most remarkable attributes: offered by the members of the community, they materialized the trust, authority and the spiritual bond between the leader and his people.

• Chalker, Kari & Montileaux, Paulette (dir.). In the Way of White Buffalo Calf Woman: Artistry and History in the Collections of the Sioux Indian Museum. Manuscrit inédit conservé à l’Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Washington, D.C.
• Hail, Barbara A. Hau, Kóla! The Plains Indian Collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. Studies in Anthropology and Material Culture, vol. 3. Providence : Brown University, 1980.
• Hassrick, Royal B. The Sioux: Life and Customs of a Warrior Society. Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 1964.
• Wissler, Clark. « Societies and Ceremonial Associations in the Oglala Division of the Teton Dakota ». Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 11, 1912.
• Wissler, Clark. « Societies of the Plains Indians ». Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 11, 1912–1916.