Native American Warrior Getting Ready to Fire from Behind a Tree Stump

As soon as Europeans established trade with the Native people of North America, textiles and metal objects were incorporated into indigenous dress. In many cases trade cloth replaced tanned skins for leggings and breech cloths, blankets provided warmth as wraps or cloaks and ready made shirts became common items of dress. In many cases natural pigments were used to personalize the white shirts commonly offered. First hand accounts often describe reds and purples that may have been achieved using various plant materials. During the first quarter of the 19th century the invention of roller printing allowed the manufacture of inexpensive printed fabric, offering visually desirable textiles for trade, including trade shirts.