Cultural Lesson Plans for Teachers about the ... - Brown University

CRADLEBOARDS AND THE KIOWA AND COMANCHE PEOPLES
The Meanings of Cradles
Creating and giving a cradle was a very special
act. Not every baby had a cradleboard. Not every
woman did beadwork, and only some of those
women made cradles. Kiowa families would
sometimes give a cradleboard to an auday,
a specially favored child who was usually the
eldest child or first grandchild. Before making a
cradleboard, family members would give thanks for
their new baby and for the materials they used to
make it.
Women known for their bead work
passed their skills down on to their
daughters, granddaughters, nieces and
cousins. Cradle makers sewed tiny beads
onto the outsides of the cradle covers,
using as many as four different stitches
to decorate their surfaces with geometric
or natural designs. A leaf was one of the
most common Kiowa designs, but each
bead worker created her own distinctive
designs, which no one else would copy
without permission. Comanche cradle
makers often painted or incised designs
on their cradle sticks. Some designs
have special meanings, representing
protection or origin.
The intricate beadwork on the cradles testifies to the high value that Kiowa and Comanche
men and women placed on their children. For the Kiowa and Comanche, the lattice cradle
symbolizes the arrival of a new life. The Kiowa and Comanche started decorating cradles
in the mid-nineteenth century, just as they were experiencing the difficult transition to
reservation life and its many changes in their culture. Cradles symbolized a family identity
and a connection to the past for many Kiowa and Comanche, and continue to do so today.
The Haffenreffer
Museum of Anthropology
BROWN
Above: Kiowa woman
from Vanessa Jennings
Collection
Left: Kiowa Cradle now at
Gilcrease Museum,
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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