Tanned deer hide dress with beaded chest, back, and sleeves. The sleeves and hemline are finished with self fur tassels. Vertical bead strands are applied with a lazy stitch in five bands across the front and back of the shoulders and chest. Bead colors include: two blue tones, black, white, greasy yellow and blood red. Incised deer hide medallion at center chest and center back at neckline. Red wool broadcloth neckline bordered with black and white diamond pattern beading long the outside edge, white bead border around the top of the neck opening. Green and white arrow bead design along shoulder., length: 52"; sleeve length: 32 1/2", Self tassels from the hide of the deer and small seed beads indicate this dress was made before 1900. Dresses like this became very uncommon after 1920. Yakama is a fair attribution for this dress, however it has attributes that suggest it could also be Umatilla. Source: Tisa Pinkam Mattheson, Curator of American Indian Colledtions, September 2006.
