Southern Plains blanket strips

Left: a William Soule photo, simply listed as Kiowa-Apache brave, taken at Ft. Sill sometime in the early 1870s. Note the unusually large rosettes on this blanket strip, probably done in white and dark blue beads on hide with sinew, then sewn onto a wool trade blanket. This art form is usually associate with Lakota, Cheyenne and other northern tribes, although blanket strips are also seen in Kiowa ledger art. I don't know of any museum held pieces that are identified as Kiowa-Apache (Naisha); beadwork done by Southern Plains people at this time tends to be less elaborate than northern forms so these may have been valued trade items or gifts from Cheyenne or Arapaho friends/kin.