Symbols of Courage - Headdresses of the Great Plains

One of the most striking and recognizable items of the American West is the eagle feather headdress. Since the early 1900s, these headdresses, also known as war bonnets, have captured the public imagination as quintessentially American Indian. Images of them abound in popular culture, advertising, and fashion. To many Plains tribes, though, these headdresses hold much deeper cultural and spiritual significance.