I had never sewed anything in my life but buttons on a shirt. That was even an experience that I did not relish. Doing research on my family tree I became aware of the fact that my great grand parents were listed on the American Indian rolls. The rolls were instituted during the infamous time of the trail of tears. I had always felt that I had indian lineage because my mother looked the part. All of her brothers and sisters had Indian features. The Indian aspect of our heritage was rarely discussed by family members. My mother never discussed her heritage even though she was dark skinned with black hair and high cheek bones. My sister looked Indian. I was dark complected. My dad was Irish. He was fair skinned with light hair. I have always felt a kinship to the Indian race.

I became very interested in anything Indian. I went to Indian art shows and inspected indian ware on e-bay. I had purchased a head dress which ended up being too small for my head. I read books and articles on Indian history. I purchased many articles which somehow seemed to quench my thirst for a feeling for the past. I am a large man with a large torso and feet. I had been buying my clothes from a big mans store for years. I had ogled the war and buckskin shirts on e-bay and other sites for months. I had trouble finding indian war shirts in my size. When I came close to finding the right shirt the price tag was out of my price range.

The next step? With my poor sewing knowledge I decided to try to make a war shirt by myself. I bought the buckskin and then a sewing machine from Wal- Mart. The sewing machine was not big enough and did not have the power to sew through leather.. I went to e-bay and purchased a sewing machine which was advertised to sew leather. In fact this new sewing machine was cheaper than the used machines that I had been outbid on by more aggressive bidders. I purchased a war shirt pattern from a company that I buy Indian articles from. The pattern was not in my size. I could not find any patterns in my size. I took one of my shirts and traced around it, adding a few inches extra for the hem. I had bought a thread that was too large for the machine and continually experienced bobbin problems. The thread was even too large to go through the needle of the machine easily. I went down to a smaller thread and began to make progress. Buckskin is not an easy material to work with. It is very pliable and has almost a spongy texture to it. Use heavy needles that are meant for sewing leather to do the hand work. Some type of lubricant is needed on the needles to make them go through the leather easier. I used a heavy piece of leather to protect my hands while hand stitching. I also used a pair of pliers to push and pull the needle through the leather. To my amazement I got all of the parts to match. I had even got huge compliments for my sewing ability. It looked as good as any thing that I could have purchased. I next looked at ways to decorate my shirt besides the usual fringe. I decided on horsehair, beadwork and medallions. I now had an expensive war shirt at a price that I could afford and in a size that would fit me.

I needed pants to go with the shirt. I sent off and ordered a pattern for leggings and a breechclout. The pattern worked. The leggings and breechclout were relatively easy to put together. I now have buckskins that will compare to almost any other. I saved money. I learned a new skill and got a feel for what it must have been like for the indians of old to produce their clothing. I am still searching for ways of recreating the Indian of the past. Yesterday I walked in the living room with a full drape red fox hat on my head. My wife does understand.