Sioux Beaded Hide Strike-A-Lite Bag, Pony Beads

Sioux, northern Plains

1880s

Native hide, pony beads, bone or antler, sinew

Provenance: Private collection, Billings, MT; old illegible inscription on reverse

Strike-a-lite bags were personal fire-making kits worn at the belt, holding the flint, steel, and tinder required to make fire, among the most essential everyday objects in Plains life before the widespread availability of matches. Pony bead decoration, with the large bead size characteristic of pre-1840s to mid-19th century production, places the decorative tradition of this bag in the earlier period of glass trade bead use on the Plains, though the form continued to be produced and used through the later 19th century. The bone or antler suspension elements at the top are consistent with Sioux strike-a-lite construction, adding both practical and decorative function to the bag's attachment system.

This bag is densely beaded in pony beads in yellow, blue, red, and dark tones across the front surface with a dark hide flap at the top, tin cone accents, and suspension elements above. The warm well-used patina of the hide surface reflects sustained daily handling consistent with an object that served an active domestic function before entering the Billings collection. Provenance traces to a private collection in Billings, Montana.

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