When Susette La Flesche (1854–1903), a well-established crusader for Native American causes, married Thomas Tibbles in 1881, she wore this fashionable two-piece woolen wedding dress, exquisitely trimmed with silk, satin, and lace. Tibbles, a reporter for the Omaha Herald, shared her outrage at the forced removal of the Ponca from their homelands in Nebraska to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). When in 1879 the Ponca chief, Standing Bear, was imprisoned for leaving Indian Territory without the permission of the U.S. government, La Flesche joined a campaign to fight for his release, which included a petition arguing for the right of the Ponca to remain in their homeland. The trial that ensued led not only to the release of Standing Bear from prison but also to one of the country’s major civil rights decisions—that “an Indian is a person within the meaning of the law of the United States” and has the right to legal redress before the courts.
Woman's wedding dress/outfit
Object Details
- Date created
- 1881
- Culture/People
- Omaha
- Previous owner
- Susette LaFlesche (Inshata Theumba [Bright Eyes]/Suzette LaFlesche Tibbles/Mrs. Thomas Tibbles), Omaha, 1854-1903
- Thomas H. Tibbles, Non-Indian, 1840-1928
- May Tibbles Barris (Mary D. Tibbles/Mrs. James Allen Barris), Non-Indian, 1870-1942
- Chester K. Barris, Non-Indian, 1898-1956
- Vivien K. Barris (Mrs. Chester K. Barris/Vivian Barris), Non-Indian, 1906-1990
- Dr. Joan B. LaNoue (Joan Barris Lanoue/Joan Lanoue Lippincott), Non-Indian
- Donor
- Vivien K. Barris (Mrs. Chester K. Barris/Vivian Barris), Non-Indian, 1906-1990
- Dr. Joan B. LaNoue (Joan Barris Lanoue/Joan Lanoue Lippincott), Non-Indian
- Collection History
- Made for Susette LaFlesche (Inshata Theumba [Bright Eyes], Omaha, 1854-1903) for her 1881 marriage to Thomas H. Tibbles (1840-1928, a journalist and Indian-rights activist); kept by Thomas Tibbles and inherited by his daughter from a previous marriage, May (Mary) Tibbles Barris (Mrs. James Allen Barris, 1870-1942); inherited by May Tibbles' son Chester K. Barris (1898-1956); inherited by his widow, Vivien Keltner Barris (1906-1990), and daughter, Dr. Joan B. LaNoue (Joan LaNoue Lippincott); donated to MAI by Mrs. Vivien K. Barris and Dr. Joan B. LaNoue in 1984.
- Contact Us
- Have a concern, a correction, or something to add? Contact us: https://nmai.si.edu/collections-statement
- Place
- Nebraska; USA
- See related items
- Omaha
- Ceremonial/Ritual items
- On View
- NMAI, New York, NY: Infinity of Nations, Plains & Plateau
- Data Source
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Catalog Number
- 25/2192
- Barcode
- 252192.000
- Object Type
- Ceremonial/Ritual items
- Object Name
- Woman's wedding dress/outfit
- Media/Materials
- Wool cloth, cotton cloth, silk cloth, lace, mother-of-pearl buttons
- Techniques
- Sewn, lined
- Dimensions
- 76 x 101 x 112 cm
- Record ID
- NMAI_267997