Kiowa Cradleboard and Cover

This cradleboard and cover were collected in Oklahoma City by George Gorton of Racine, WI who donated it to the Milwaukee Public Museum in 1962. It was made by a master beadworker named Doyetone around 1904 for her grandson William "Bill" Bear.

The Kiowa are a Plains tribe that traditionally hunted buffalo in the area that is now Oklahoma and Kansas. Cradleboards and covers were used to carry infants while freeing the hands of the mothers while they work. This particular cradleboard is very intricate and in comparison to most cradleboards. The cradleboard, with a blue silk lining, features a leather cover that is almost entirely decorated with beads in floral and corn motifs.