For full detail (location, contacts, event detail, event web site, etc.), click the link at the end of the listings to go to powwow & rendezvous event pages on the Crazy Crow website.

Need to add an event? It's easy to do online at Crazy Crow. Submit your event early enough, and you'll be searchable in Google ® & other search engines as a result (2-3 month lead-time required).

Powwow Listings
Sep 7-8: 12th Annual Keepers of the Circle Powwow, Rotterdam.Junction, NY
Sep 7-8: Grand Valley American Indian Lodge 41st Annual Traditional Pow Wow, Grand Rapids, MI
Sep 13-14: 3rd Annual Trail of Tears Powwow, De Queen, AR
Sep 13-15: 14th Annual Northern Cherokee Homecoming & Pow Wow, Clinton, MO
Sep 14-15: 10th Annual Four Winds Powwow, Killeen, TX
Sep 20-22: Rossville Powwow, Rossville, GA
Sep 20-22: Mahkato Wacipi, Mankato, MN
Sep 28-29: Adrian 'Lest Our Children Forget' Contest Powwow, Adrian, MI
Sep 21-22: Mountain in the Sky Pow Wow, Highmount, NY
Sep 27-29: 3rd Annual Tonto Apahce Tribal Pow Wow, Payson, AZ
Sep 28-29: Sounds of Thunder Powwow, Fredonia, AZ

Rendezvous Listings
Sep 6-8: Elk River Rendezvous, Hillsboro, MO
Sep 7-8: 20th Annual Fort Hill Ramrods Rendezvous, Butternut, WI
Sep 21-22: Fort Belle Fontaine Historic Encampment and Black Powder Shoot, On the banks of the Missouri River at the mouth of Coldwater Creek
Sep 20-22: Goose Creek Rendezvous, Harris, MN
Sep 21-29: 26th Annual NRLHF / NMLRA Eastern Primitive Rendezvous, Lancaster Cty, PA
Sep 27-29: Fall Rendezvous - Eagle Valley Muzleloaders, Carson City, NV
Sep 27-29: Duck Creek Muzzleloaders Fall Family Rendezvous, Independence, Kansas
Sep 27-29: B.S.A. Three Rivers Council, Spindletop District, Lewis and Clark Adventure Camporee, Silsbee, TX
Sep 28-29: Pioneer Days At the Boone Home, Defiance, MO
Sep 28-29: 23rd Annual Heritage Days on the Goshen Trail, Godfrey, IL

Events: Powwows & Rendezvous complete detail & links

8-page, full-color flyer - Introducing new and seasonal items, and offering many popular items on sale.

New items include: Pendleton Jacktets, Pendleton Bags, Jingle Dress Video, Italian Wool Camp Blanket, Hand-Forged Scissors. Note: Pendleton Jackets & Bags are due toward the end of September - we offer them now so you can reserve yours early.

Sale items include: Shawl Fringe Spools, Bustle Kits, Economy Bone Hairpipe, Bone & Horn Tubes, Shell Discs, Cowrie Shells, 11/0 Czech Charlotte Beads, Greek Leather Thong, Imported Beadwork, Engraved Brass Sleigh Bells, Small Flint Arrowheads, Botanicals, Bamboo Flutes, Punch Tin Lanterns, Tobacco Twists, Powder Paint, Sweat Lodge Drums, 8-Sided Drum Frames, and more.

New Crow Calls Flyer

Beginning any craft project, especially if it is your first time working on a particular item, requires some patience - and a plan.

* Is your craftwork representative of contemporary design, or do you have a particular 'period' in mind?
* Will your project reflect some general 'Native American' look, or is there a specific tribal design to be achieved?
* Do you have instructions on the materials needed and assembly techniques required?

The purpose of Crazy Crow Trading Post's Craft Focus pages is to provide a starting point in your research, to save you time and improve your chances of finding the information and materials you need to do it right the first time.

September Craft Theme: Moccasins
No matter how you spell moccasin, one thing is for sure, no Native American or Mountain Man attire is complete without them (maybe that's two things).

This is our second eNews edition, and our first Craft Focus page. Our plan is to grow an online archive of information that will continue to expand, even on past issues, as more resources are made available on the Web.

We Report, You Decide . . .
. . . as a popular cable new channel likes to say. The first section of these Craft Focus pages will be online links and resources. These are not stale, broken links, but the result of intense, current searches. That doesn't mean we found everything that is relevant, but we sure tried! In many cases, we deliver you to websites that may point you to one of our competitors. In other cases, we will send you to a site that recommends a competitor (usually because, heaven forbid, they don't know about us). Our point is to give you the best information we can so that when all is said and done, you can decide what you need and where to get it.

This is a new and evolving process, and your comments, corrections and contributions are welcomed. Do you have some great craft tips to pass along, digital photos to share, an online resource we've missed? If so please email them to us at: craftfocus@crazycrow.com.

Craft Focus: Moccasins Web Page

Full Circle Videos looked a long time to find the right moccasin maker to create the beautiful Cheyenne style moccasins for their "How to Make Moccasins" video. They were pleased to have found a master of this craft - Annabelle Medicinechips (Cheyenne/Caddo).

When she was eight, her mother and grandmother taught her to make little bags and purses. "They used to let me bead with their scraps". To learn to bead lanes, "they'd make marks on there I could follow". By the age of 15, she was making moccasins on her own and hasn't stopped since. Even while working full-time as a nurse for BIA for 18 years, she kept creating. "At night, after my work was done, I'd drag my beadwork out. I enjoy it."

Now that Annabelle is retired, she can work late into the night at her kitchen table, listening to Indian music. She recommends that beginners add only a lane or two of beadwork to their first few pairs of moccasins before they attempt a fully-beaded pair.

She's concerned that so few Cheyenne young people are learning this traditional craft. "I'm afraid it might become a lost art".

Courteosy of Full Circle Videos © 2001.

For dancing or relaxing, there's nothing like the feel of high quality leather moccasins- custom fit to your foot size. And tiny tots never look cuter than when they have a pair of "baby mocs" on.

If you thought making a pair of moccasins would be too complicated, our 30 minute video, "How to Make Moccasins" makes it easy. Co-Producer Sandy Rhoades says, "Before this video, it was difficult to find out exactly how to make moccasins. For the first time, this tape brings together the best of "how to" from dozens of different craft articles and craftspeople".

This "how to" program introduces you to the Plains Hard Sole moccasin style. In the beginners project section, you are shown how to draw a pattern for your exact foot size, select the right kind and weight of leather, cut out the leather and sew it together. This basic low-cut design can be adapted to both men's and women's styles - and for high-top boots, such as ladies boots and the Mountain Man Rendezvous look. There are also tips for creating a pair for infants and young children.

Close-up shots of historic Plains tribes moccasins from the Gilcrease Museum show intricate construction and beadwork details. Viewers can learn to distinguish the variety of moccasins worn by Plains peoples in this segment.

Two nationally known moccasin makers share tips on construction and technique.

Annabelle Medicinechips (Cheyenne/Caddo) show the centuries old way to sew with an awl and animal sinew - how leather and beads were held in place before the introduction of needle and thread. Mike Kostelnik has studied moccasin making for more than 30 years. He shows a way to prevent leather from tearing along cut lines.

An instruction sheet includes a list of materials and tips on how to draw custom-fit moccasin patterns.

With this video, good quality materials, careful attention to measurement and a couple of evenings, a custom-made pair of moccasins can be yours.

Item 4080-002-033 VHS Format $19.95

Other Videos available at Crazy Crow (Crazy Crow Online Catalog at Google)

A great companion to our "how-to" video that has additional tips, Crazy Crow's Missouri River Patterns provide typical beadwork layouts for uppers, pointers on cutting fringe and attaching tin cones. Illustrated instructions include helpful hints on assembly and show correct decoration for several tribal styles.

Item 4799-500-206 Child's Size (newborn-8 yrs)
Item 4799-500-010 Adult's Sizes (women 5-10, men 7-12)
$7.95 each, $7.50 each (3 or more)

Check out all 27 patterns (including our High-Top Moccasin)! Each includes easy-to-follow instructions, detailed illustrations & photos for expert and novice alike.

Missouri River Patterns (Crazy Crow Online Catalog at Google)

The inspiration for this unique research project & website was found among the variety of wool trade cloths in collection at the National Museum of the American Indian. Trade cloths were European produced wool textiles traded to American Indians during the fur trade era. Native Americans commonly exchanged fur pelts to European traders for wool cloth. Native people used the cloth to create and embellish diverse objects such as garments, ceremonial dress, blankets, shields, and quivers. Wool cloth garments replaced many traditional hide garments because they were warm, lightweight and easy to care for.

Cloth was highly significant to Native Americans, and as such they actively influenced its style and production. The finished selvedge edges of the cloths were of utmost importance to some Americans Indians, who incorporated them as a design element. Contemporary reproductions of trade cloth are produced and worn by Native Americans today.

For this project, 30-50 objects were selected from the NMAI collection. These objects were meant to exemplify a cross-section of the variety of trade cloths in the collection and to represent a diverse tribal distribution. The images used highlight the beauty of the objects, the incorporation of non-Native materials, and the creativity of Native peoples.

The selected images can be sorted and viewed in several categories, such as by tribe or selvedge type. Information is provided on: Where to Find, Contemporary Trade Cloth, Textile Terminology Glossary & Bibliographies. Articles on trade cloth in the Fur Trade, and European Cloth Production are being written.

From its glossary or related terms, to the history and images from the HMAI collection, you will certainly find this an unexpected source of valuable information on this widely used material.

Wool Trade Cloth website

As with the Saquaro and the Nez Perce, this unnapped blanket is reminiscent of the early 20th century blankets in the Pendleton® archives. This blanket is a part of the Heritage Collection and is new for 2002.

Rounded corners, unnapped. 82% pure wool, 18% spun cotton warp, dry clean, Made in USA. Olive background color.
Size 64" x 80" 3710-494-740 ............ $155.00

Pendleton Woolen Mills - Closeouts & Featured Items

Our entire full-color 104-page catalog of American Indian & Mountain Man crafts, craft supplies and craft kits has been updated, both in print, and online at Google Catalogs.

Order your new catalog today - complete the online form using the link below.

Catalog 19 - Order Online