Kent Antique Gallery offers a comprehensive selection of original Native American artifacts from several regions and tribes. The Plains Natives were prolific creators of a diverse range of artworks and artisanal pieces perfect for any collection. 

Plains Natives: Culture and Artifacts 

The Plains Natives took their name from the Great Plains region, covering the expansive prairie lands from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River and Alberta to the Texas Rio Grande. 

The main Plains tribes were the Blackfeet, Crow, Cheyenne, Mandan, Arapaho, Sioux, Comanche, Plains Apache, Kiowa, Osage, Pawnee, Ponca, and Otoe. These tribes shared the common lifestyle of the hunter gatherer, but their artworks reflected their cultural differences. Popular Plains Natives art pieces include colorful headdresses, buckskin shirts, deerskin dresses, moccasins, necklaces, other accessories, clothing, weapons, and tools. 

Daily Plains life focused on agriculture, gathering, and hunting. The household food production was gender-based, with the women doing most of the crop cultivation and harvesting of medicinal plants. The men also grew tobacco and hunted game like bison, elk, deer, and fishing. The abundance of fresh water, wood, vegetation, and wildlife featured as popular motifs in their works of art, for which the women were the main artists creating beadwork and quillwork, while the men made tools, paintings, stone sculptures, and weapons.

Explore Our Catalog of Plains Natives Artifacts

Plains Natives: History and Art

Plains Natives were nomadic people who lived in tipis and survived on the game they hunted - primarily buffalo. However, by 850 CE, many tribes in the Central Plains traded their nomadic lifestyle for a farming existence. They created many earth-berm home settlements, and by 1250 CE, most Plains Natives made this shift. There were several villages and hamlets located along the Missouri River and its tributaries, and some grew to populations of up to a few thousand individuals. 

The introduction of the Spanish mustangs, lead to Plains Natives expanding their range beyond the known boundaries of the Upper Missouri region through increased mobility. 

Plains Natives made significant contributions in the area of beadwork. They also added feathers and fringes to their various artwork and traditionally used porcupine and bird quills in their embroidery pieces. However, these cultural shifts and external forces also influenced their artwork. Glass beads from Venice acquired from trades replaced these traditional elements. 

At Kent Antique Gallery, we consign authentic Plains and other Native American items from reputable dealers and collections. We will help you source original and well-preserved artifacts to meet your interests and achieve an incredible collection. 

Contact Kent Antique Gallery today for high-quality, authentic Plains Natives artifacts.