Cradle or Carrier

In the past, young Plains children spent much of their time in cradles, which remain in occasional use today. Examples like this one are held in the arms but others are furnished with a wood frame that can be propped against a support, such as a sofa or a tree, or carried on the back. Esteemed special-occasion cradles, often created as gifts, are encrusted with beadwork that attests the family’s social status and confers spiritual benefits. Little is known of the meaning of the patterns that appear on historic Lakota (Sioux) cradles.