Meswaki Settlers

The history of the Meskwaki correlates with the history of other tribes from the Great Lakes region, which is evident in the similarity of cultural practices, language, systems of organization, and dress. The name Meskwaki means “People of the Red Earth.” By the early-18th century, the Meskwaki were at war with the French as a result of conflicts over policy and trade. In 1728, France adopted a policy of genocide with the intent of exterminating the entire tribe but in 1735, after a long series of skirmishes, the surviving Meskwaki sought refuge with their allies, the Sauk, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter, both groups moved to Iowa. They settled west of the Mississippi river valley in present day Davenport, Iowa. In 1845, the Meskwaki were forcibly removed to a Kansas reservation to make room for white settlers. Unhappy with the conditions of life in Kansas, a group of Meskwaki came back to Iowa and with their own money purchased their first eighty acres of land in 1857. The Meskwaki still live on this land today, which has expanded to seven thousand acres through a series of land purchases.
Meswaki Ribbonwork
Ribbonwork is a textile art form and a method of applied decoration developed by Native American women of the Great Lakes region after the introduction of European trade in the early 17th century. The Meskwaki tradition of ribbonwork is a reflection of the past in how it symbolically carries on the meanings of the culture, while the actual form in material goods has changed over time.
To create ribbonwork, pairs of ribbon strips or cut fabric strips in contrasting colors are layered and then the top layer is cut, folded under, and stitched to the bottom layer into a repeating design configuration. The contrast of color forms the design and takes on a positive/negative image of an abstract representation of floral design. Two or more of these strips are sewn together to form a mirror-image of the repeating design which becomes a panel. The panels are then used to embellish garments. Several types of ribbonwork-decorated garments for men and women exist, such as shawls, breechcloths, leggings, moccasins, and bags; the primary garment for women is the ribbonwork skirt. Today, Meskwaki wear western-style dress for daily attire, but for weekly ceremonies and periodic dance festivals, they wear Meskwaki ethnic dress decorated with ribbonwork.
Scholars have indicated that it may have been possible that the appliqué method of beadwork was created by the Meskwaki. Beadwork patterns used abstract floral designs which were documented around 1865. Ribbonwork also used curvilinear motifs in abstract floral designs reminiscent of the floral beadwork designs. The use of this artistic style in appliquéd beadwork became the accepted mode of applied decoration for the Meskwaki and also resulted in the transfer of this artistic style to ribbonwork. Representative Meskwaki motifs are typically of simple designs, with curves resembling stylized flora; these characteristics set them apart from other tribes. Motif pattern sources came from reworked existing patterns or from ribbonwork samples, both of which were handed down from previous generations. Motif patterns could also be created from scratch. Any of these motif patterns can be manipulated into many configurations to create new patterns.