"Question concerning plains indians ( native americans..)" Topic

Where there a big difference between the looks of the different tribes on the plains ? Could conquests comanches be used as cheyenne or sioux? Or did they differ that much in dress and feathers ? Greatful for all kind of help..

There were differences in the looks of the various tribes. I am by no means an expert, but there are numerous books and websites to access. I guess in a pinch you could substitute figures for different tribes, but where's the fun in that?

I read somewhere that cheyenne more often had crowfeathers and sioux more common used eaglefeathers.. But I don't know if that is true..

link

A place to start.

Like John, let me begin by saying I'm no expert. Having said that I think that you should look at your figures in terms of headdress, leggings, breechclout, moccasins, hair-pipe breast plate, etc and if they have those in common with a Plains Indians group you want to develop then it's up to you and your brush to make it happen. The Osprey Men-At-Arms #163/The American Plains Indians will probably give you a pretty good idea of what you should be looking for. My Plains Indian collection is 15mm, and I'm pretty sure that the manufacturers were just producing figures that basically represented Plains Indians. You can see what I did at link

Where there a big difference between the looks of the different tribes on the plains ? Could conquests comanches be used as cheyenne or sioux? Or did they differ that much in dress and feathers ? Greatful for all kind of help..

I wouldn't use Conquest Comanches that way. Indian appearance changed not only from tribe to tribe, but also over time.

The Conquest Comanches are sculpted mainly from a series of paintings that George Catlin made in the 1830s. Most 'Plains Indian' figures, like the Foundry 'Dog Soldiers', etc. are based on northern plains tribes, Dakota and Cheyenne, c. 1876, the date of the Little Big Horn battle. Besides clear differences in dress and hair, the 1830s Commanches have no firearms, the 1876 Dakotas have revolvers and Winchesters. Foundry also produces a distinctive set of Blackfoot from the 1830s-40s.

A good introduction is the book Mystic Warriors of the Plains by Thomas Mails. This describes Plains culture, gives details of dress and equipment, particularly describes the soldier societies (the Comanches had no soldier societies). Heavily illustrated.

Look for websites or books that reproduce the paintings of contemporary western artists, like George Catlin or Charles Russell.

My favorite book on Indian dress is Josephine Paterek Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume. Not that many illustrations and no color, but very comprehensive, far beyond the Plains tribes.

It's a vast subject, you could spend a lifetime learning. In the end, do what suits you.

I guess you could but why would you want to?

Northern Plains Indians have different leggings, more ornamentation, more beadwork, etc.

Zippy has given you some good advice and has suggested some very good books. There is also a Mails' book specifically about Dog Soldier Societies, as well as one on the Apaches.

19th century prints from:
The Historical Encyclopedia Of Costume by Albert Racinet
North America – Yutes, Sioux, Iowa
North America – Foxes, Sacs, Kaw, Killimou

MIRROR SITE:
North America – Yutes, Sioux, Iowa
North America – Foxes, Sacs, Kaw, Killimou

Druzhina
Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers