Osage women began wearing US military coats as wedding garments in the 1700s or earlier. The coats were diplomatic gifts to the Osage men from high-ranking US government officials, but they were too small. So Osage men gave them to Osage women, who then embellished them with beadwork and embroidery. Later, the coats became a central part of a ceremony for the transfer of a sacred drum from one drum keeper to another and are still used that way today. Anita Fields’s coat acknowledges the garment’s long history by combining traditional textile techniques with symbolic designs, including embroidered DNA patterns, Osage orthography, and sun symbols on the surface of the coat. Family photos, historical documents and images referencing Osage worldviews are digitally printed on the garment’s lining.

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From the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery website:

“Women have long been the creative force behind Native American art, yet their individual contributions have been largely unrecognized, instead treated as anonymous representations of entire cultures. ‘Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists’ explores the artistic achievements of Native women and establishes their rightful place in the art world.”

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly unsharp.

‘Sustaining Traditions-Digital Memories,’ Kelly Church (Ottawa/Pottawatomi), 2018, posted earlier: