
1895–1905
Many Plains peoples hold lavishly quilled or beaded cradles in high esteem—they bestow spiritual benefits on the infant and prestige and honor on the family and the maker, usually a female relative. Indeed, today and in the past, creating such a cradle is often regarded as equal to counting coup, the ultimate act of male bravery in which a warrior touches an enemy with a stick known as a coup stick. This cradle was held in the arms; others have wooden frames that can be propped against a support, such as a sofa or a tree, to ease the baby’s socialization into the community.