Headwear for Indians

Indians wore many kinds of headdresses. Headdresses were usually headbands and many tribes wore them. Some Indians grew longhair or glued extra hair on the headband or even both!

One type of headdress was a warbonnet. A warbonnet was a headband with feathers through it. What kind of feather you ask? Eagle feathers of course, because eagles were powerful and the Indians wanted their power. Eagle feathers were symbols of great actions.

There are different kinds of warbonnets. One is the Black foot bonnet , it has all the feathers sticking up around the headband. Another is the Apache bonnet, it is a cap with feathers that droop over the side all around.

Not all Indian tribes wore warbonnets. Tribes that lived in the forest couldn’t wear the flowing feather, because they would snag on branches or in bushes. The Iroquois made caps that snuggly fit their heads. These caps had large top feathers that were removed when they were traveling and could be put back on when they reached the end of their journey. Only the bravest warriors wore headdresses made of rare eagle feathers. Four of the Indian tribes that made headdresses were the Pawnee, Sioux, Mandan, and Cheyenne. The Pawnee headdresses were made of porcupine quills and hair from deer. Sioux headdresses were made from eagle feathers and fur. A special headdress was made for the Mandan medicine man . It was a type of headband made with buffalo horns and buffalo hair. The Cheyenne headdress was made of both Buffalo hide and hair.

Headdresses were symbols of bravery, position, and honor for many tribes.