Allowat Sakima
by Gerald Musinsky
Allowat Sakima literally means "Mighty Chief" or "Great Chief," an allegorical reference to the supreme deity, the Great Spirit. It is also a respectful reference to legendary personages with cultural and historical significance to the tribe. Most often depicted wearing a double-tail eagle bonnet (symbolic of the eagle and flight), deerskin leggings (symbolic of the swiftness of the deer), and an eagle feather coup-stick.
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The headdress is more representative of the Plains tribes, possibly since the Delaware Nation was reduced to a meager population prior western expansion and their exodus to Oklahoma Reserve.