 |
|
Ross Mason photo |
|
The April 1 speaker at Cave Creek's free
educational program, Jane Bischoff, displays some of
her stylish broomstick skirts which originate from a
combination of Navajo and European styles. |
|
April
programs at Cave Creek Museum
focus on Squaw Dresses, Broomstick Skirts and local
history
CAVE
CREEK - This April, take a journey back in time and attend
one of Cave Creek Museum's diverse educational programs.
Cave Creek Museum also features an extensive collection
of prehistoric and historic artifacts that describe the
lives of Native Americans, miners, ranchers and pioneers.
Saturday, April 1: Featured speaker: Jane Bischoff
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. "Gussied Up-Squaw Dresses and Broomstick
Skirts"
In the late 1800s, when the United States Cavalry was settling
the West and the lifestyles of Native Americans were changing,
the "Broomstick" skirt was born. It came about
as a necessity as the traditional role of the Native American
women and clothing styles of the time took on new dimensions.
The Native American women of the Southwest were no longer
in a position to weave or obtain buckskins for clothing,
so they began to adapt to the current styles of the late
1800s. The wives of the cavalry men stationed at forts in
the West were wearing the traditional velvets, brocades
and cotton calicos in the European styles of the times.
As the availability of material changed, so did the clothing
styles of the Navajo women.
In the late 1940s, fashion designers began copying the ethnic
look of the Navajo skirts and blouses and created an exciting
fashion trend called "Squaw Dresses" and "Broomstick"
skirts.
|
|
| |
|
"Squaw
Dresses" were tiered, full and decorated with many yards
of metallic trim, braids and ricrac. A "Broomstick"
skirt's lovely, pleated look was maintained by wrapping the washed
skirt around a broomstick, tying it at the tiers and setting the
broom and skirt in the corner to dry.
A native of Arizona, Jane Bischoff spent many years teaching on
the Navajo Indian Reservation. While living there, she learned
many Native ways, including the construction of the "Broomstick"
skirt. The designer of the OUT WEST line, Jane was the first to
make the Navajo women a ready made "Broomstick" skirt
available to them at trading posts.
Today, she still makes a line of "Broomstick" skirts
for the Navajo women and travels to the reservation once a year,
trading and selling skirts to the ladies and trading posts from
the trunk of her car. In 1982, Jane began to offer her designs
and "Broomstick" skirts to the wholesale market.
Saturday,
April 8: Bev's Bits of Local Area History Session 2 p.m. to
3:30 p.m.
Cave Creek Museum's volunteer historian Beverly Brooks will present
her third and final history session for the season. The third
session covers a span of time from the late 1920s to the 1960s.
Highlights will include Bev's anecdotes regarding some of the
old cowboys she's met over the past 48 years and her personal
memories of Cave Creek in the late 1950s and afterwards.
Programs are free, but require reservations. Cave Creek Museum
is located at 6140 Skyline Drive. For information about the April
programs at Cave Creek Museum, call (480) 488 2764, or visit www.cavecreekmuseum.org.
|
| |
|
| Back
To Arts & Entertainment |
|
