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The Plateau Indians included a large number of groups from the Columbia
and Fraser River basins, in the areas that are now Washington, eastern
Oregon, western Montana, northern Idaho and southeastern British
Columbia. These tribes were skillful in their beadwork design and passed on
this tradition from generation to generation. The beadwork was used on bags, clothing
and personal accessories and also used for trading. During the 1860's, smaller "seed" beads began to be imported from Belgium and Czechoslovakia.
The plateau Indians are most well known for their beaded bags. Leather
bags were typically made from elk, moose, deerskin or buffalo hide and
were sewn along the sides with leather strings. Around the end of the nineteenth century designs began to include birds, animals
and profiles of people. Usually the entire front of a bag was beaded
with a single color background, typically white, plus the main design.
This lovely bag was crafted on elk hide, which is thick and very soft to the touch. A dark blue and white poke-a-dot cotton cloth is used as the inner lining of the bag. Beautifully crafted and in excellent condition, this bag measures 11 1/2" long by 10 1/2" wide, with leather thongs serving as handles. It is in excellent condition.
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