Blue and red wool broadcloth became popular as a blanket for Lakota Sioux in the 1870s, replacing buffalo robes when herd numbers dwindled. It now became fashionable to have such a blanket for wearing, since Natives did not wear a coat for warmth. It required more than a dozen tanned buffalo hides to trade for a stroud blanket, worn showing a white edge at the top and bottom. To court a Lakota maiden, a longer blanket was needed to encircle the dating couple. To make for Crazy Horse an extended courting robe, the sides of two 49-inch trade blankets were sewn to each other along their white edge to make a blanket 98 inches across, and top to bottom of 69 inches. This style of two middle white strips along dark blue on a courting robe reminded Lakota of skunk’s stripes and referred to it as a “skunk blanket”.
The stroud material got its name from Stroud, England where sheep wool was hand-spun and woven as a cottage industry, then dyed by clothiers. This broadcloth was clamped with boards along on two sides to place it in an indigo vat dye for a dark blue. The white, clamped areas did not take any color and, rather than disliking the raw, white edges, the Lakota favored its look on blankets and leggings. Brillant red color was also popular, made in Stroud, using cochineal, insect bug juice from prickly pear cactus, harvested by Indians in Central and South America. Some blankets used a combination white-edged, red stroud sewn to blue selvage for a blue-and-red courting robe. Seldom have courting robes survived from the Buffalo Days, making this historic blanket important for understanding the life of Chief Crazy Horse.
The beaded strip on this courting robe was most likely removed from a worn-out buffalo robe and stitched onto this trade blanket. The center strip has eight beaded lanes with four expanded circles, sinew-sewn using trade Venetian beads from Italy. The four arms on each circle refer to the four directions and, within each circle, are red and blue arrows showing swallow-tail ends. Red represents the color of Lightning, while blue is for Thunder to honor Wikinyan, the Thunder Being.
When courting, the blanket encircled the head and body of the couple to muffle talk and offer privacy since dating, before the reservation era, was by the entrance of girl’s tipi. At the slanted door opening of a tipi, where a girl stood to greet a boy, the girl’s feet and lower body were inside while her upper body were outside. This afforded parents opportunity to chaperone their daughter’s safety by seeing her legs and feet within the tipi. A suitable suitor, such as Crazy Horse, needed to be a warrior who earned a feather from counting coup on an enemy.
Crazy Horse courted Black Buffalo Woman, as his first love. However, she was the niece of Chief Red Cloud, who offered her to No Water, as his wife. When this marriage developed problems, she asked Horn Chips, Crazy Horse’s medicine man, for wisdom in living with No Water. Chips made for Black Buffalo Woman a rawhide deer effigy with Iktomi (Spider) on top to give an answer to her problem. Buffalo Horn Chips then suggested that Crazy Horse needed love in his life, such as with Black Buffalo Woman, rather than only thinking of war. Chips asked Black Buffalo Woman to become a Keeper of the Pipe for the Night Ceremonies (Yuwipi). Chips cleverly understood Black Buffalo Woman could be absent each night, without suspicion from No Water, with the excuse she was needed to hold the sacred prayer pipe. This robe likely was worn on cool nights during ceremonies; there are visible holes from a fire’s sparks.
Each night the trio of Black Buffalo Woman, Crazy Horse and Chips spent time keeping medicine objects of Crazy Horse active. Chips also fashioned love medicine to bring love between the couple. Crazy Horse and Black Buffalo Woman decided to elope when much of the camp was deserted to travel with Chief Red Cloud, before he headed to Washington, DC. Two days later, No Water discovered his wife gone from camp with Crazy Horse. He found the couple at night, seated at the back of a tipi. Using a Derringer pistol, he shot Crazy Horse point-blank in the face. Crazy Horse was thought to be dead, but later revived with a swollen face. It was believed the medicine talisman given by Chips saved the life of Crazy Horse. A rawhide figure of an echinacea plant eased the pain of Crazy Horse. The parents of Crazy Horse now sought to find a single woman near the age of their son to court and found Black Shawl. After a brief courtship of a month, Crazy Horse, though still suffering from a swollen face, took Black Shawl as his wife.
The last wife was Laravie, whom Crazy Horse was encouraged to date, shortly after he surrendered to the government at Fort Robinson. The military thought another wife would calm Crazy Horse because Black Shawl was unable to do much, due to her tuberculosis. Laravie was young, attractive, and single, the daughter of the fort’s trader. She was being courted by another Lakota warrior when Crazy Horse began using this courting robe to also date and later marry her.
Crazy Horse relied on many medicine stones for his safety at Fort Robinson, but Chips told him two years earlier that he would not die in battle; instead by his people while his arms were held. This proved true when Crazy Horse was led into an agency building, rushing for the doorway, when seeing iron bars of a jail. As Crazy Horse grabbed his knife to escape, Little Big Man grabbed his arm, and a soldier bayoneted the chief. Crazy Horse died at midnight and, by travois of his parents the next morning, they traveled thirty miles to his favorite campsite along Beaver Creek. Crazy Horse was wrapped in a buffalo robe by Chips and placed in a tree for a day and night. His courting robe remained back in his tipi with Laravie, his grieving wife. This robe was passed down to Genevie “Crazy Horse family”. To pay for her giveaway and funeral, this courting robe of Crazy Horse was sold by her adopted brother, Harold Thompson White Horse, Brule Sioux Spiritual Leader, on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. His testimony of Crazy Horse’s robe is documented separately by video recording and by Harold’s written letter copied below.
This Lakota Sioux blue courting blanket was inherited by Celeste Janeva Small Bear Thompson, married name Peneau, great granddaughter of Crazy Horse through her mother. She inherited this courting robe from her mother. Through adoption, she was my legal sister and I, as Harold Thompson, lived with her a number of years. Following her death, I was family-appointed to deal with her legal papers and Indian artifacts. This robe was the most significant. She lived on the Rosebud Brule Sioux reservation near Mission, SD.
Her husband was Stanley Peneau. His mother was Sally Larvie, often spelled “Larabie”. Sally’s grandmother was sister of the Larabie. This Larabie was the last, or third wife of Crazy Horse, while at Ft. Robinson.
This broadcloth stroud consists of the two blankets sewn together at their white borders. The edges of the other side are with gold edging. I noticed several holes and burn marks from embers of a fire. The beaded strips have cranberry white heart, green and navy blue are Italian Venetian. The brass metallic 1870 French beads and white are Italian beads. Beading is sinew-sewn on buffalo hide. Typical are the 4 circles with red color for lightning, blue for thunder. The silk French ribbons are from the trade period.
I Harold Thompson AKA White Horse certify the authenticity of this blanket. The sale of this blanket paid for the funeral expenses. (signed) Harold White Horse Thompson , Sept.20-2023
Eight arrowheads point to effigies in this article, made by Chips for Crazy Horse
Compiled by Larry Belitz, Caretaker of the Chips Collection
December 26, 2023