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Diane Tells His Name - Lakota No Face Doll
 "Old Woman in Red"
HK Item #LD225

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Authentic Native American Lakota No Face doll by Diane Tells His Name

The Story of Old Woman

Old Woman has been living for nearly 80 winters now, a long time considering she was born as a free Lakota on the Plains of South Dakota and now lives in a square box on the reservation.

Her life has gone through many transitions with hope, heartache, death and life. She is the matriarch of the family and in these hard times they look up to her for strength, for the stories to be told, for the Lakota names their children will carry through their life. She sings old songs as she sews near the doorway of the square box, happily tending her grandchildren as the parents stand in the long lines for commodities at the Agency.

She uses cast offs and whatever she can find to make her clothing now days, this Blanket Dress was made from an old Camp Blanket she adored with ornaments salvaged from her own and other's worn and ruined regalia from the old days. As long as we stick together as family, she thinks; as long as there is one more song to sing, she prays, as long as the children know love and hope, we will survive as a People.

Old Woman is a name given to her to honor her long years of life. An honor not afforded many, and an honor to be cherished.

Authentic Native American Lakota No Face doll by Diane Tells His Name

She has shell and glass beads bordering her sleeves.

Authentic Native American Lakota No Face doll by Diane Tells His Name

Glass beads on her moccasins.

See more Lakota No Face Dolls

Diane Tells His Name - Lakota
"Old Woman in Red" - No Face Doll

LD225 - $198 plus s/h

     

Paula says - "Old Woman is the newest creation for Diane and the original is being exhibited this summer at the Museum of the Plains Indian in Montana and then at the Sioux Indian Museum in South Dakota.

"Most of Diane's dolls are inspired by family stories and Old Woman is no exception as she was Diane's great-great-grandmother."

Authentic Native American Lakota No Face doll by Diane Tells His Name

Back view.
She measures 10" high with a 6" arm span.

Body parts are machine sewn with polyfill stuffing and the pieces are then hand sewn together.

Old Woman's dress is made from an antique Camp Blanket from the 1930's . Sewn together, by hand, with sinew.

Authentic Native American Lakota No Face doll by Diane Tells His Name

White horse hair for her hair.

Authentic Native American Lakota No Face doll by Diane Tells His Name

Ear bobs are miniature Buffalo Nickels.

Questions or more details.

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About the Artist

Native American Oglala Lakota Diane-Tells-His-NameDiane Tells His Name is a (CIB) registered member of the Oglala Lakota tribe of Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Between December 2004 and February 2005, Diane exhibited her first dolls at the "Spirit of the People, Native American Artist Exhibit" in San Diego, California.

"Medallion Woman" was the doll shown there and she was seen by one of the curators of the Western Heritage Museum in Los Angeles (formerly the Gene Autry Museum). The curator asked if the doll could be accessioned into their collection. Having an art piece accessioned into a museum is an honor. It means that it is assigned a museum catalog number and formal information about it and the artist is noted and recorded for historical purposes. The object becomes the properly of the museum. The Western Heritage Museum also accessioned White Feather Fan Dreamer.

After that first exhibit, Diane's artistic career exploded with offerings of exhibits, shows and dolls accessioned into several museums including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC; the May Collection at USD in San Diego, and the Barona Cultural Center and Museum on the Barona Indian Reservation.

Diane Tells His Name has been an Artistic Judge at the Museum of Man Indian Fair (San Diego) for 5 years. She has exhibited at the Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the San Diego Archaeology Center, the Indigenous Women's Art Faire in San Diego and a several other places.

Diane developed a line of Hudson Bay Dolls for the Autry Museum's Fur Trader Exhibit.

She has conducted doll workshops and beading classes and continues to create new dolls as the visions and stories come to her. Many of her stories are based on the tales from her Lakota Mother, Bell Tells His Name, as she remembers the stories that her grandparents told her.

Diane Tells His Name is working to have a doll accessioned into the Heard Museum in Phoenix and is working on a doll for the 2011 Red Cloud Indian Show.

Diane currently has over 30 dolls in her collection with many more to come. Her large family of 5 children, 13 grandchildren and over 20 foster children has kept Diane happily busy the past years, but as of 2010, with the children grown and out of the house, she is an artist full-time.

Diane Tells His Name has her dolls in select gift shops and we are proud to be able to offer these beautiful ladies in our webstore here at horsekeeping.com.

Note: A CIB card, otherwise known as a CDIB card, stands for Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood and is issued by the federal government's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The No Face Doll

The No Face doll has its origin in the corn-growing Northeastern tribes as the dolls were traditionally made of cornhusks, with darkened corn silk for the hair.

As legend has it, Corn Spirit, sustainer of life, asked the Creator for more ways to help her people. The Creator formed dolls from her husks, giving the dolls a beautiful face. When the children of the Iroquois pass the dolls from village to village and from child to child, her beauty was proclaimed so often that the corn husk doll became very vain. The Creator disapproved of such behavior and so told the doll that if she was going to continue being part of the culture, she would need to develop humility.

The doll agreed but couldn't help but admire her own reflection in a creek. The all-seeing Creator, sent a giant screech owl down from the sky to snatch the doll's reflection from the water. She could no longer see her face or bask in her superior beauty.

So when a Northeast Native American mother gives a doll to her child, it is usually a doll with no face and the mother tells the child the legend of the Corn-Husk doll. Native Americans want their children to value the unique gifts that the Creator has given to each of them, but not to view themselves as superior to another, or to overemphasize physical appearance at the expense of spiritual and community values.

Read more about Corn and Corn Maidens on our blog.

Lakota No Face Dolls

Similar to the Northeaster tribes, the Plains tribes often use No Face dolls to instill humility in their children.

Native American Oglala Lakota No Face doll constructionSince the Great Plains tribe members' own clothing was often elaborately covered with intricate beadwork, so were the dolls. Lakota Dolls are beautifully adorned and depending on the activity they represent, they can be outfitted with various equipment and items such as baskets, cradleboards or knives and hunting tools.

Lakota Dolls are traditionally made from buckskin. The bodies are stuffed with cattail fluff or buffalo hair. The hair is usually horse hair or buffalo hair.

Why do Native American dolls have long hair? As legend has it, when you die, if you don't hear your name called, you can't cross over to the other side. So, just in case you don't hear your name when it is called, if you have long hair, someone on the other side can grab your long hair and pull you over.

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