Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Chief Louison was an old and respected leader of the Salish-Flathead People in Montana around 1910, when he was photographed inside his tipi with some of his best traditional dress. The eagle feather headdress was for him a fairly new symbol of leadership, adopted from the Sioux and other Plains tribes. His feather-covered shield is a reminder of his younger days as a brave and noted warrior. Although he wears just a striped cloth shirt and black vest, behind him hangs his ceremonial outfit, including a weasel-decorated headdress and suit, the double trailer for his eagle bonnet, a pair of long straps with dance bells, and a plume-decorated reservation hat. On the ground behind him is a traditional rawhide parfleche for storage.