362-141<BR> Tigua shield; gweeyèr (TK); wood, hide, cloth, feathers; d. 45 cm., h. 7 cm.; ca. 1870-1880.<BR> The Ysletans were in frequent conflict with the neighboring Apaches, and many served as scouts for the U.S. army in campaigns to crush their resistance to Anglo-American domination and forced settlement on reservations. With their robust shields they protected themselves against Apache arrows, and blows with clubs during close combat. In 1902 Jesse Walter Fewkes visited Ysleta and noted that former scouts, like war captain Bernardo Holquin from whom Ten Kate purchased the shield, did not receive a pension or extra rations. Fewkes described their inhabitants as "although poor, they are industrious, self-respecting, law-abiding citizens (1902:61). The engagement of Pueblo Indians in staunch defense of their villages and field, their willingness to undertake raids, and to resist Indian and white enemies in a violent manner, mitigates the popular image of an unassertive people (Dozier 1970:78-82).<BR> This circular shield is made from untanned buffalo skin, probably from the neck of the animal as this was preferred because of its thickness and strength. In pre-horse days the shields were larger to protect a large part of the body, but after the introduction of horses, shields generally became smaller among Southwestern and Plains tribes (Wright 1976:8; Baldwin 1997:11-14). As the cover of this shield has no painted designs, originally the rawhide shield surface of this specimen was probably completely covered with red cloth, of which only the frayed margins remain. However, Pueblo shields with painted designs on their surface had such cloth linings around the perimeter (e.g. Bolz and Sanner 1999:111, fig. 90). Pendants on the shield's rim include (the remains) of several feathers, and a hide cone from which a bundle of small feathers emanate. This latter type of shield pendant is not recorded in Wright's (1976) study of Pueblo shields.<BR> (Hovens 2008-09)