Cradleboards (, se, gietkka, sms, ǩiõtkâm, smn, kietkâm, sje, gietkam) are traditional protective baby-carriers used by many

indigenous cultures Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

in North America and throughout northern Scandinavia amongst the Sámi. There are a variety of styles of cradleboard, reflecting the diverse artisan practices of indigenous cultures. Some indigenous communities in North America still use cradleboards.

Structure

Cradleboards are used for the first few months of an infant's life, when a portable carrier for the baby is a necessity. Some cradleboards are woven, as with the Apache. Woven cradleboards are made of willow, dogwood, tule, or cattail fibres. Wooden cradleboards are made by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

and

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic ...

. Navajo cradleboards are made with a

Ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

frame with buckskin laces looped through the frame. Whatever materials are used to make cradleboards, they share certain structural elements. Cradleboards are built with a broad, firm protective frame for the infant's spine. A footrest is incorporated into the bottom of the cradleboard, as well as a rounded cover over the infant's head that arcs out from the cradleboard, similar to a canopy or a modern-day baby carriage hood. The purpose of this headpiece is to provide shade for the infant, since it could be covered with an animal skin, or a blanket in winter to protect against the elements in colder climates. The headpiece also provides extra head protection in case anything bumps against the cradleboard. Ornaments and sacred amulets are often attached to the headpiece as well, for example "beaded umbilical cord cases, and dream catchers or medicine wheels", to amuse and help the infant develop his or her eyesight. The inside of the cradleboard is padded with a lining of fresh plant fibres, such as

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store w ...

cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in ...

down, or shredded bark from juniper or cliffrose. The lining serves as a disposable diaper, although the Navajo could clean and reuse the lining made of shredded juniper or cliffrose bark. These plant fibres have antiseptic properties, and thus nurture healthy skin in the infant. The Chippewa tradition was to make a lining for the cradleboard usually from moss growing in

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

marshes, which is smoked over a fire to kill insects, then rubbed and pulled to soften it. In cold weather, the infant's feet may be wrapped in rabbit skin with the fur facing inward. The moss lining is surrounded by a

birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, craftin ...

tray insert placed into the cradleboard, which could be removed for cleaning.

Use

James Quesace and family Oct 16 1887 crop

The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis - Kiowa cradle board - overall

Cradleboards have been used in cultures ranging from the sub-Arctic regions of present-day Canada, down to Mexico and Central America. In Arctic regions, cold weather does not make a cradleboard feasible for the infant's survival, and infants are carried by being placed in a sling worn under the mother's parka. Cradleboards were widely used by indigenous people across present-day North America. Cradleboards are used by the

Kickapoo people The Kickapoo people ( Kickapoo: ''Kiikaapoa'' or ''Kiikaapoi''; es, Kikapú) are an Algonquian-speaking Native American and Indigenous Mexican tribe, originating in the region south of the Great Lakes. Today, three federally recognized Kick ...

in Mexico and were used by

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

s and the

Seri people The Seri or ''Comcaac'' are an indigenous group of the Mexican state of Sonora. The majority reside on the Seri communal property ( es, ejido), in the towns of Punta Chueca ( sei, Socaaix) and El Desemboque ( sei, Haxöl Iihom, link=no) on th ...

and

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

communities as far south as

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. In present-day South America, most indigenous cultures used slings or pouches, sometimes called a ''rebozo'', for carrying infants rather than cradleboards. Cradleboards were used as in the Americas as far south as the

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

region. Cradleboards were used during periods when the infant's mother had to travel or otherwise be mobile for work, and needed to protect the infant. The cradleboard could be carried on the mother's back, using support from "tumplines", or "burden straps" that would wrap around her forehead, chest or shoulders; if she carried a pack as well as the cradleboard, the pack strap would go around her chest and the cradleboard strap would go around her forehead. The cradleboard can also be stood up against a large tree or rock if the infant is small, or hung from a pole (as inside an Iroquois longhouse), or even hung from a sturdy tree branch. They were also used when longer travel was required, as the cradleboard could be attached to a horse for transportation. In the southwest United States and northern Mexico, among cultures such as the Hopi and Apache, infants would spend most of their day and night in the cradleboard, being taken out of it for progressively longer periods, for up to five times per day. When the infant reaches the age when it can sit up unsupported, it is then gradually weaned from the use of the cradleboard, and spends progressively less time in it. At this time, the infant may use a second, larger cradleboard that replaces the first. By the time the infant is a year old and begins to walk, they are generally finished with cradleboard use. Cradleboard use and its effect on mother-infant interaction has been studied in Navajo communities. It has been shown that cradleboard use has no significant negative effect on this development. In the first few months of infancy, cradleboards have a soothing effect on babies. After 6 months of age or more, infants begin to resist being placed in cradleboards more vigorously as they become more mobile, and they are often placed in the cradleboard with their arms and hands free, so that they can play with objects hung from the cradleboard for their amusement.

Developmental dysplasia of the hips

Cradleboard use has been associated with increased incidence of developmental dysplasia of the hip. The technique requires straightening the legs, which encourages dislocation of the femur and malformation of the acetabulum. This can be avoided by placing padding between the baby's legs to keep the knees slightly bent with the hips angled outwards. Some modern cradleboard users contend that the small 1968 study of Navajo babies was intentionally designed to denigrate a traditional cultural practice, although a 2012 study produced hip dysplasia in laboratory rats by subjecting them to similar conditions.

External links

*Victor F. Lotrich
"Indian terms for the Cradle and the Cradleboard"
The Colorado Magazine, May 1941

References

{{Navboxes, list = {{Indigenous peoples of the Americas {{Cultural areas of indigenous North Americans {{Pre-Columbian {{Indigenous peoples by continent Babycare Human-powered vehicles Infancy Child safety Carriages Baby products Bags Sámi culture

Structure

Use

Developmental dysplasia of the hips

See also

External links

References