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Key Ideas
It is the spiritual power of the image on a shield rather than the shield itself that provides protection for its owner.

The buffalo on this shield came to a young Crow man named Humped Wolf in a dream.

Northwest Coast Southwest Mississippi Valley Northeast Woodlands Plains

 
Crow Shield
Introduction --
Humped Wolf's Vision
Using The Shield
Shield Label: Full-Mouth Buffalo (Humped Wolf), Apsaalooka (Crow), Great Plains region (United States), Shield, about 1870; Bison hide, deer hide, owl feathers and pigments; The Christina N. and Swan T. Turnblad Memorial Fund and gift of the Regis Corporation 87.51

A rawhide shield was the most important element of protection for a Plains man riding into battle. But it was not the rawhide that protected him. The protection came from the spiritual power of the image that was drawn or painted upon the shield. The image of the buffalo, which appears on this shield, came in a dream to a young Crow Indian man by the name of Humped Wolf.

Pipe Bowl Elkhide Pipe Bag Shield Dress Bonnet Native Amercan History and Culture

 

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