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Also known as parflech

400px|thumb|A parfleche is a type of wallet or bag made from rawhide. Historically made by Plateau, Great Basin, and Plains Indians|Plains women, they are usually decorated with brightly colored geometrical designs. A parfleche is a Native American rawhide container that is embellished by painting, incising, or both.

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Contents
  • Etymology
  • Construction
  • Craftswomen's guilds
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

400px|thumb|A parfleche is a type of wallet or bag made from rawhide. Historically made by Plateau, Great Basin, and Plains Indians|Plains women, they are usually decorated with brightly colored geometrical designs. A parfleche is a Native American rawhide container that is embellished by painting, incising, or both.

Envelope-shaped parfleches have historically been used to contain items such as household tools or foods, such as dried meat or pemmican. They were commonly made in pairs and hung from saddles. Their designs may have once served as maps. In contemporary usage, they may carry social, spiritual, and symbolic meaning, or be part of dance or parade regalia.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “parfleche” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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