Angela Swedberg Blog

This Plateau dress made by Angela Swedberg is showcased on her blog. It is made from Mt. Sheep hide which is an excellent hide for making dresses and war shirts due to its durability but thin quality. 

Angela makes original Plains and Plateau style Indian art, based on 19th century aesthetics and use authentic materials that were available in that time frame (1820-1900). She restores and does conservation work of antique Indian art. She is a tribally certified Indian Artisan in accordance with the Indian Arts and Crafts act of 1990. Recently she have been exploring the world of art glass and the ways of incorporating it into a modern expression of established tribal art forms. Her other passion is horses. "They often influence my work, and give much to my soul."

Angela did the restoration work on this Chief David Young Cayuse horse Collar that is shown in this Mayor Moorhouse photo.

Trade Blanket Capote - Plateau Style

Angela has also worked on this Plateau Mt. Sheep dress worn by the wife of Mnainak, a Yakima Chief in this Curtis photo.

There are more photos of this dress on her blog.

Copy by Angela  with photos from Angela Swedberg.

A Big Cowgirl Hat with Beading by Angela Swedberg

 I just finished this beaded Cowgirl hat.  The hat itself came out of a pawn shop on the Yakima Reservation.  I beaded the cowgirl and brim using 13/0 Charlotte cut beads, many of them antique beads.   The button on the hatband is  hand made sterling silver.   And of course the model is the ever patient Cappy the Appy.

Copy and photos supplied by Angela Swedberg.

Angela Swedberg Beaded Moccasins

Photo supplied by Angela Swedberg.

Angela Swedberg Lakota Woman's Purse

These are some purses I made, of my own design based on a old type of Lakota woman's purse. The originals were thought to have been based upon a buffalo bulls scrotum sack! But, I decided to update them, and make them pictorial, as these were always done in geometric style which is a woman's art form. Pictorial portrayals were men's style artwork. These show friends horses, although the ones I did shows some animal figures. All sides of them are different, and are beaded in faceted size 13 beads. They become a traveling photo album more or less.

This is one I did of my own personal horses. It was bought off of my shoulder at the Santa Fe Indian Market. The Appy is the same horse modeling the Plateau Horse Gear.

Photos supplied by Angela Swedberg.

Angela Swedberg Child's Shirt

It is a child's size shirt, and is based on the concept of "Minipoka" or special children. Many of the Northern Tribes made these garments for children that were given status above the rest of the group. Paul Raczka wrote a excellent article about this in American Indian Art some years ago.

This shirt is made using brain tanned antelope hide, skinned and tanned to have the long leg drops and tails intact. The beadwork is sinew sewn on brain tanned buffalo hide. The beads used on this shirt are 100% antique Italian ones. The drops are ermine skins and horse mane hair. The paint is mineral ocher paint. The cloth is old square weave trade cloth. I then gave the shirt a light patina. A.S.

Photos by Angela Swedberg.

Pipe Bags and Stem Holders by Angela Swedberg

These are traditional pipe bags and stem holders. The one on the left is Crow, and the one on the right is Blackfoot. Both are sinew sewn, using primarily antique Italian beads, on brain tanned antelope. The Blackfoot bag is painted using red ocher earth paint, what they use for sacred items. Both of these bags were made for traditional pipe holders. A.S.

Photos supplied by Angela Swedberg.

Angela Swedberg Ca. 1830's Mandan Plated Quillwork War Shirt

The shirt, is also quilled using sinew, and this one has all natural dyed quills, on a brain tanned buffalo hide base. It is based on, but with some artistic freedom of the shirt in the Karl Bodimer painting of Mato Tope', or Four Bears, the famous Mandan Chief. It is brian tanned Mt sheep hide, the locks are both human hair as well as dyed horse hair, and also has ermine skin drops. The cloth used is old square weave trade cloth. This is in a private collection. A.S.


Photo supplied by Angela Swedberg.

Plateau Horse Gear

All of this work is original work, meaning I designed it myself, and did not make replica copy's of existing work. It is all based on 19th century Plateau Indian aesthetics. All material used in construction is what would have been used for period material; Brain tanned buffalo, moose, deer, antelope, elk and cougar hide. All beads used are antique Italian manufacture, and the beadwork is done using elk sinew. The cloth used is a combination of replica saved list stroud cloth, and some cloth used is antique square weave trade cloth. The bells on the martingale are old "school bell" style ones, often used on Plateau material. The complete set of gear includes two bridles (one a classic "key hole" design on buffalo rawhide) the other a more Western Plateau design of cloth applied onto leather, with brass buttons and silk ribbon attachments. The set also includes a Plateau style martingale of horse collar, which has a "bear claw slash" design on the straps (as opposed to the triangle designs on Crow style ones), and also a classic Plateau bandoleer bag (which also has bear claw slash design on the straps), which were often used by the Plateau people for martingales in the late 19th century. The Saddle is made using a cottonwood tree, covered in buffalo raw hide, and then a covering of brain tanned mule deer hide. The stirrups are bent cottonwood, covered in Buffalo rawhide and then painted. The saddle throw is Mt lion, and beaded with pony beads. The parfletche bags hanging from the rear of the saddle are a somewhat rare technique, which is incised rawhide. Buffalo rawhide was used, and the epidermal layer was cut away, leaving the white hide layer underneath to make the patterns. The image is a Western Plateau style I designed. And, last but not least the horse, "Medicine Cap Command" aka Cappy the Appy, is one that I bred his mother for, delivered, trained and ride in many events from cow horse competitions to dressage. And, he is a ham as well, so like's all of this dress up stuff! Best of all, his mother was a $230 slaughter house save, and went on to win me many a championship and paycheck as a cow horse. He got his good attitude from her.

Plateau Parade Outfit

That is the latest work I have done, and it took me just about a year to complete. I was told by Bill Holm (University of Washington), and Steve Grafe, from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage museum, that it is the most authentic and correctly done Plateau Horse gear outfit made since the late Nineteenth century. And, I also bred, raised and trained the horse it is on, so kind of a heart felt project for me. A.S.

Nez Perce' Horse Gear (Detail)

Plateau Keyhole bridle

Plateau Horse Gear Encised Parfletch

Plateau Horse Collar

Saddle Blanket I had to send this on its own. The lowly saddle blanket, that gets hidden under all that gear.

Photos supplied by Angela Swedberg.

Angela Swedberg

Ca. 1870's Nez Perce' Quill Wrapped Horse Hair Shirt.

This shirt is made from brain tanned Mt. Sheep hides. It is made using the Quill Wrapped Horse Hair technique. All sinew sewn, on brain tanned buffalo base. The quills are both natural dyed, and some analine dye as well. The beads are antique Venetian beads.. The cloth is old wool trade cloth, and the paint is laundry bluing, just like the Plateau People used it to paint shirts. This shirt is in the Private collection of a well known Indian art collector. A.S.

Touch on detail to see large.

Photo supplied by Angela Swedberg.

Blog Update

Two pictures featuring detail of the Metis/Ojibwa Quilled and Painted Capote by Angela Swedberg have been added.

Angela Swedberg

Ca. 1790 - 1810 Metis/Ojibwa Quilled and Painted Capote.

The Capote is a original work, as all of them that I make are, based on Red River Metis/Western Ojibway aesthetics. It is made from smoked brain tanned deer hide, sinew sewn. The quillwork is also sinew sewn as well, on Brain tanned moose hide. The quill colors were a mixture of both natural and analine dyed quills. The paint is natural pigment paint, with hide glue as the binder, and painted on using willow stick stylists and bone "brushes". It is in the private collection of the well known North West Coast master carver, Duane Pasco. It even appeared in a carving of a totem pole he did, with the main figure on the pole wearing it. The poles name is Jay Hawker. A.S.

Photos supplied by Angela Swedberg.