Craft from the Past!

Ten years ago this month, this is one of the craft projects I made: a holder for a bison horn.

I had bought this horn at a Native American trading post because I thought it would be a nice thing to have to remind me of how our Native peoples of the plains lived and survived. The bison was everything to them and it was a part of every aspect of their lives. When they killed a bison, every part of the animal was used for something. No part of it went to waste. (Not even their poop, which the Natives used to fuel their fires.) Not only did the bison give them meat, but the Natives used their hides to make all types of clothing, as well as tipi coverings, blankets, bags & pouches, belts, and many other things. They used their hooves to make glue, their sinew to make thread and bow strings, their bones to make knives & spears, tools, toys, ceremonial objects and more. Bison brains were used to tan their hides. The horns were used as ladles, spoons, and cups. The bison not only provided for them physically, but it was also an integral part of their spiritual life as well.

Okay, now back to the bison horn holder I made. As I said, I bought this bison horn, but when I got it home, I was like, “Now how am I going to display this?”. So this holder is what I came up with. Basically, I just wrapped a small metal ring with suede lace for the horn to rest in and then I made a sort of netting around the horn with the suede lace and some pony beads. At the top, I gathered together the ends of the lace, attached some feathers, and wrapped it with a piece of suede, then attached another piece of lace to make the hanger. I added leather tassels and feathers to hang down from the ring. And that’s it! It was very quick and simple to do.

I’m not posting this because I think a lot of people will want to know how to make a hanger to display a bison horn, but rather I’m just using it to show that where there’s a will, there’s a craft.