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1. Beaded Suit Vest

Until about 1900 Meskwaki bead work featured abstract geometric patterns: diamonds, squares, triangles, chevrons, parallelograms, etc. Sometimes the figures of manitous were also represented. Floral forms begin to appear after about 1890. There is much debate about the stimulus for the design shift. Some experts attribute it to contact with other tribes--the Iowa Meskwaki remained in contact with members of the tribe who stayed in Kansas and others who went to Oklahoma with the Sauk. Other experts note the influx of European immigrants to Iowa and point out the close similarity to some Norwegian folk art, but also Czech, German and other European traditions. Many different sources of inspiration were in easy reach of the Meskwaki in Tama, and many of the different ethnic groups clung firmly to their European traditions. Indeed, so concerned were State officials about the failure of the "melting pot" to change the transplanted Europeans, that in 1918 the governor issued a proclamation making it illegal to speak anything but English in public.

2. suit apron	3. suit leggings	4. bandolier bag - next

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