This is a wonderful circa 1950’s Kootenai Indian beaded cradle board from Mary Andrews of the Kootenai tribe Elmo, Montana. There is an original tag on the back identifying Kootenai Mary Andews. The piece exhibits a wooden frame in classic Northern Plains to Plateau tall pattern of cradle board which is completely covered in Indian brain tanned buckskin / deer skin hide with sinew and thread sewing. The piece is a full size, large example and shows wonderful Kootenai geometric beadwork done in glass trade seed beads and further decorated with old wound glass pony trade beads, brass trade thimbles, brass jingle cones, and fringes. The front shows a papoose with Indian brain tanned deer hide lacing with nice Indian brain tanned buckskin cover which is further adorned with geometric beadwork. The beads show colors of greasy blue, green, red, opalescent white, orang and dark green. Provenance: Handmade circa 1950’s by Mary Andrews of the Kootenai Tribe from Elmo, Montana; For reference see the Kootenai cradle board from Ninepipes Museum Charlo, Montana on your way to Glacier National Park showing a Indian deer skin beaded cradle board, this example incredibly similar of not by the same hand. The back shows wide Indian brain tanned buckskin long fringes. The back has an original handwritten tag which is marked, “Cradleboard by Mary Andrews Kootenai, Elmo, MT Brain tan Deer skin Hand painted Porcelain Doll.” The lot includes a hand painted porcelain doll. Overall the cradleboard / cradle board / papoose measures 38-inches long by 14-inches wide.