war bonnets

These are some pictures I found on the web they are war bonnets and chest plates War bonnets were one of the charms, and medicine, worn by native americans in battle.The eagle was considered by native americans as the greatest and most powerful of all birds, the finest bonnets were made out of its feathers.Someone holding a completed bonnet would have the authority to tell many stories. Long ago the bonnet was only worn on special occasions and it was highly symbolic. the beauty was not the importance but the bonnet's real value was in its power to protect the wearer.The bonnet had to be earned through brave deeds in battle because the feathers signified the deeds War bonnets are made by hand and made in diffrent styles and with diffrent materials such as painted cloth and, feathers are decorated with horse hair and, breath feathers, gypsum, buckskin/elk or fur on tips of feathers.these styles differ from tribe to tribe. chest ornament / chest armor. The long bones called hair-pipes, were made with bones from buffalo, birds, or manufactured non-natives - then assembled by the Natives. The top of the plate was tied around the neck with a thong, and other thongs at the bottom secured it around the waist. Since the hair-pipe bones were difficult and expensive to obtain, the number of bones in the plate often indicated the wealth of a warrior. Such breastplates were worn on occasion in battle, but could be penetrated