I noticed that in the first picture in the article, the woman in the front-centre and the two women on the right appear to have no feet or lower legs. It doesn't seem be due to the length of the grass because the shoes of men nearby are visible. Also, the trousers worn by the woman standing sideways in the centre don't look wide enough to conceal her feet.
I think it's a combination of the pants legs being a bit wider than you think, and the grass being a bit taller than you think. I can assure you the Oneida Community had no bizarre foot amputation practice...
Anyone know an explanation?