This beaded buckskin doll was made by the Sioux people of present day North and South Dakota. Sioux children would use these dolls to play camp, complete with miniature tipis and horses. Doll making was an important opportunity for a young girl to learn how to tan hides, sew, make clothing, and make beadwork. This doll’s attire represents female Sioux clothing at its most formal. This type of dress, with a fully beaded yoke, was heavy and uncomfortable and would only be worn for special occasions. The two long white earrings on either side of the doll’s face probably represent dentalium (shell) earrings fashionable among wealthy Sioux women of the time.