Omaha Dwellings, Furniture and Implements / Thirteenth Annual Report of the Beaurau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1891-1892, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1896, pages 263-288

by James Owen Dorsey

Shields and Armor.

Shields (ʇaháwagȼe) were made of the hides of buffalo bulls. They were round and very thick, reaching to the waist of the bearer. Arrows did not penetrate them. Joseph La Flèche never heard of the use of defensive armor, such as helmet and mail, among the Omaha and Ponka.

He had heard of a Pawnee who made a coat from four elk skins, two forming the front and two the back. Between each pair of skins was placed sand. A helmet was made in like manner. It covered the back of the head and extended over the forehead, coming down as far as the eyes. When the Pawnee noticed an arrow coming toward him, he bowed his head forward.