ARTS & RESISTANCE
No. 58 (Fall/Winter 2023)
Faw Faw’s Dream Coats
Several Native American religious movements originating over the course of the 19th century were formed in direct response to relentless oppression by the United States Government and land-hungry American settlers. Many of these movements evoked a return to an idealized pre colonized past, manifested through the revitalization of traditional ways of life. The ill-fated Ghost Dance movement that led to the tragic massacre of almost 300 Lakota people at Wounded Knee in December of 1890 is perhaps the most well-known example of this spiritual phenomenon. The Richard Pohrt Jr. Collection of Native American Photography contains several images that shed light on another of these movements, the Faw Faw religion, and depicts the artistry of resistance that was demonstrated through its followers’ clothing.
In approximately 1890 while in the throes of a severe illness, an Otoe-Missouria man by the name of Waw-no-she (also known as William “Billy” Faw Faw) experienced a life-changing vision in which two young men appeared and reassured him that he would survive the sickness; a magnificent cedar tree then sprang from the earth accompanied by wild songbirds in fine voice. Faw Faw found deep spiritual meaning in this vision and began spreading the messages he interpreted from the experience. Before long, he had become the figurehead of a movement that preached the resurgence of traditional lifeways, the maintenance of a supportive community built on trust and kindness, and the rejection of pernicious influences wrought by exposure to Euro-American culture (especially land allotment and the consumption of alcohol).
The two men in this group portrait wear bead-embroidered frock coats typical of followers of Faw Faw. The coat worn by the man at far right includes the horse gifting motif. Photograph by William F. Prettyman, ca. 1892.
The most important Faw Faw ceremony, the ritual planting of cedar trees, took place twice a year in July and December. A cedar tree was selected for uprooting and brought to a designated location, where it was planted at the center of an earthen lodge. Next, buffalo skulls were gathered and placed in the lodge alongside a drum. The participants then sang, danced, and smoked tobacco. Presents, including horses, were generously swapped and/or given to impoverished community members.
Adherents of the Faw Faw religion (which included members of the Otoe-Missouria, Ponca, Pawnee, Osage, and other tribes that had been relocated to Indian Territory) wore distinctive articles of clothing that incorporated symbols related to ritual aspects of the faith. Breechcloths and frock coats worn by men were often embellished with spectacular bead-embroidered designs including cedar trees, buffalo skulls, stars, birds, hands, crosses, and human figures posing with horses. By wearing clothing clearly associated with a movement that stood in opposition to the objectives of their colonizers, followers of Faw Faw openly signaled their beliefs through artistic expression. While the Faw Faw religion only lasted from around 1890 to 1895, its beautiful visual legacy remains in many material artifacts and photographs that survive to the present.
Oto Chiefs. The immaculately dressed man seated in the back row far left is William Faw Faw himself. Photography by Lenny & Sawyers, approximately 1891.