# Chief's Headress **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683 "2011-06-24T08:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683/1 "2011-06-24T08:45:42Z")
What kind of feathers are the ones used to make a Native American’s chief’s headress? From what bird(s)does they come? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683/2 "2011-06-24T08:52:41Z")
The stereotypical ones that you are probably thinking of are [eagle feathers](http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/headdress.aspx). > [@](#): > > The widely recognized headdress of the Plains Indians was usually made of eagle feathers, sometimes with the fur and horns of the buffalo, which were so important to the survival of the tribe ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683/3 "2011-06-24T09:00:31Z")
I would think it might depend on the tribe. Which is to say it depended on where you lived. Eagles are not everywhere in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683/4 "2011-06-24T09:06:24Z")
Ah! Thanks! I didn’t even think of the eagle! Duuh… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683/5 "2011-06-24T11:58:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Eagles are not everywhere in the US. Wait, are you saying eagles don’t occur everywhere, or their feathers weren’t \*used \*everywhere? Because I’d find the former very hard to believe. ETA or you may have meant “common everywhere”, which seems more correct. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683/6 "2011-06-24T17:49:01Z")
Start searching on Indian Headress and you’ll see that the type you are talking about has been popularized by the media, but only represents one type of headress. IIRC these were the type used by the Lakota/Dakotas. Other types used other feathers, other basic design structures, and many other materials. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chiefs-headress/586683/7 "2011-06-24T20:43:27Z")
Eagle headdresses are illegal to possess unless you can prove ownership prior to the 1962 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and even then they cannot be purchased or sold. I think it’s only a misdemeanor but still… Here is a beautiful bonnet that was repatriated in 1999- [http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pressrel/99-59.htm](http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pressrel/99-59.htm)