10/15/2026
On the Southern Great Plains, traditional pursuits of many tribal craftsmen have been remarkably maintained for generations. In their families, long-established activities like buckskin sewing and beadwork have been passed on by skilled artisans to their children. Items such as purses, bags, pouches, and hair ornaments made from raw materials showcase the talents of the craftsmen.
Natural materials including bone, stone, seeds, wood, horn, clay, antler, shell, and pearl have been used by tribes in North America for a very long time. For example, beads fashioned from those natural materials made decorative items possible. Items such as necklaces were created. Moreover, the use of glass beads were incorporated in those traditions even though the glass beads were a foreign item of trade. With plentiful beads and an assortment of colors, beadwork rapidly emerged as the leading form of decoration.
In Oklahoma, beadwork artists such as the late Comanche elder Marjorie Sovo created excellent items of high quality in her work.
An outstanding hair ornament made of glass beads/beads, cowrie shells, paperboard, deerhide/deerskin, and commercially tanned leather. The ornament was made by Marjorie Sovo in 1962-1963. Purchased by the Oklahoma Indian Arts and Crafts Board representatives from the Oklahoma Indian Arts and Crafts Cooperative (Anadarko, Oklahoma) in 1963; part of the IACB Headquarters collection (Department of the Interior, Washington, DC) until 2000 when it was transferred to NMAI. National Museum of the American Indian. Additional information from the Oklahoma Historical Society and the U. S. Department of the Interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Southern Plains Indian Museum and Crafts Center, Anadarko, Oklahoma.
