Vintage Plateau Bags

These beautiful vintage beaded bags are called Plateau Bags (also known as Nez Perce or cornhusk bags). Native American women in the Nez Perce, Umatillo, Walla Walla, and Yakima tribes in the Plateau region of the United States beaded these bags by hand, row by row. 

Plateau bags were used by women to gather food, berries, and roots, and ceremonial supplies, and in the 1700’s, they also began to be used as saddle bags when riding horses.

To obtain their bold, bright colors, weavers used plant fibers, minerals, and herbs to dye materials. The core of the bag was typically made with hemp fiber or corn husk. 

Each Plateau Bag is intricately designed by the weaver and tells a story of its own.