Sioux-Style Beaded Hide Buffalo Umbilical Fetish Amulet with Trade Beads

Beaded hide effigy in the form of a buffalo, a traditional Plains umbilical fetish (commonly Lakota/Sioux, also documented among Cheyenne and Arapaho) used to hold a child's dried umbilical cord as a protective talisman. The upper surface is fully lazy-stitched in white seed beads with a central diamond medallion in green, black, sky blue, and orange — the diamond a recurrent motif in Plains beadwork associated with protection and long life. The hump and tail are accented in banded red and pale blue, with two amber-toned banded trade beads tied at the forelegs with black leather thong.

The buffalo form carries deep significance in Plains cosmology — sustenance, strength, and spiritual kinship — making it a powerful choice for an umbilical fetish intended to safeguard a child through life. Construction here — lazy-stitch rows on soft brown hide, glass seed beads with banded "chevron-style" trade beads — is consistent with late 19th to early 20th century Northern Plains work, though origin remains unconfirmed.

CONDITION

Good overall, as shown. Beadwork is intact and tightly strung with no visible bead loss. Light staining to the hide underside consistent with age and handling.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• 1" D × 5" W × 7" H
• Glass seed beads, lazy-stitch on hide
• Leather thong ties with banded trade beads
• Plains umbilical fetish form (buffalo variant)
• Unmarked