SigMT

SiG MT 23 s a maker of cradleboards, Browning resident, Susan Weber, gives parents an appreciation for this traditional Native cra, as well as one of the safest, most secure ways of holding, "their most precious, beautiful child." Individually craed with colorful materials and items from nature, Weber explains the, "spirituality and individuality," that goes into each baby's cradleboard. "ey are a simple device, but ancient," she says, "with origins going back thousands of years, traced to tribes of ancient peoples around the world." Where the materials used to make today's cradleboards, "are modern, the concept is very old. e science is there." Weber, an educator at Blackfeet Community College, state legislator, and grandmother (she proudly emphasizes the laer), details the engineering behind the craing and use of an infant's cradleboard, though oen it is the combination of colors and materials that first draw the eye of an observer. "Every Native American tribe," says Weber, "from the East Coast to the West Coast, from the Sub-Artic to Mexico, had cradleboards." A cradleboard, which might cradle an infant through the first year, "does not replace a car seat," states Weber. "It is not a basket; not to be held by the hoop." She carefully instructs those new to the use of the cradleboard, on the purposes served by every part. e hoop, made of willow harvested near Two Medicine Lake, "during spring run-off," protects baby should the cradleboard tip or roll over. Weber notes that once baby begins to roll over on his or her own, the cradleboard has been outgrown. e hoop also supports a blanket cover for warmth, or a cloth for shade from the sun. A "From the East Coast to the Arctic," Weber notes that tribal designs of cradleboards include universal features, such as these, "danglies," which carry spiritual significance regarding protection from Spirits carried by the wind. Danglies provide enhancement for child development, as rattles and chimes to encourage baby's attention and visual focus.

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