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Beaded Sashes

Both Meskwaki men and women traditionally wore sashes, garters, armbands woven from the cordage of native plants and bison hair. Trade woolen yarn was rapidly adopted once it became available in the Great Lakes region. The natives quickly learned to take advantage of its bright colors to create vivid designs, the meaning of which is little understood.

Sashes could be worn in a number of ways: bandolier-style crossing the chest, wrapped around the head like a turban (men only), belted around the waist, or draped over the shoulder. Glass beads were incorporated into the traditional forms as soon as they became available. Large pony beads measuring about 1/8 inch in diameter were the first to arrive. Smaller Italian seed beads, about half the size of pony beads, replaced the latter by 1840.

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