Sioux Beaded Hair Drop

Late 19th Century

2.25" x 10" + 19" Purple Dyed Hair Extension 29" Overall Length

Hand Crafted from Hide Leather and Glass Seed Beads and with Purple Dyed Hair Leather with Cones and Dyed Feather Attachments

In Very Good Condition

Loria & Ray Davis Indian Artifacts Collection

Dear Matt,

As per your request for additional information concerting the collection items which are now in your care, I will try to fill in some blanks.

My mother received the Montana Trade items from her Great (great) uncle. His name was Ed Barris. He was a Clerk in a large trading post in the town of Junction MT. Junction flooded & was never rebuilt. It was near the current town of Custer. He died & left these items to my mother. He was the one who identified the vest as owned by "Curley" the scout of General Custer. He also identified to my mother that the one shirt was owned by Cutster's friend & scout. (the name is in one of the pockets). [BUCKSKIN COAT Owned by General Custer's good friend Enoch Griffin, Indian Trader & Scout. Barras Col'n N. 48].

My mother at one time was in communication with the remaining family of Curley. She had sent a picture of the vest to them, & they had agreed that this was Curley's & they asked if she would repatriate it to them. she declined, but was in communication with them over a period of years. She had letter (s) from them stating the above, but when she moved, we could not find the letters.

My dad died November of 2017, & shortly thereafter mom went to a memory care unit in E. Wenatchee. Terry R. Davis

Sioux beaded hair drops are traditional Native American ornaments, particularly associated with the Sioux (including Lakota and Dakota subgroups) and other Plains tribes. These are decorative items worn by men, tied into the hair (often at the back or side of the head) to enhance appearance, signify status, or as part of ceremonial attire.