Often called Fort Berthold shirts, that this type of quilled shirt seems to have been traded throughout the Northern Plains. Easily recognized by its three "finger" design elements on the shoulder and arm strips, this style shirt is usually attributed to the people of the Fort Berthold Reservation. However, examples of this style and design element have been documented from other tribes, notably an example in the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which was made by Duck Chief's wife of the North Blackfeet.

While there is no doubt the majority of this style shirt came from the Fort Berthold area, it should not always assume to be the case. At that period of the Northern Plains history, styles were moving from one group to another with ease. A case in point being the almost standardization of the "Sioux" style war bonnet with minor variations, by many of the tribes.

In the case of the shirt offered there are several strong points, which place its origin among the Mandan/Hidatsa people of Fort Berthold. The first being the cut of the shirt body and the shape of the neck bib, both being very typical of shirts from that area and time period. The second point is the use of the yellow ground with light blue, orange, red and purple on the quillwork. The quillwork techniques, however, are common among most tribes of the Northern Plains.

The outstanding point of this shirt is the condition of the quillwork. A fragile material, quillwork is often easily damaged by bugs and does not often survive in this excellent condition. Another factor with quillwork is that often the dyes used have a tendency to fade, often disappearing completely. On this shirt, however, the colors are still strong and vibrant.