![Cabinet photo DSCN6792_zpsbc9392ed.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6792_zpsbc9392ed.jpg)
In American Indian cultures, art is not separate from daily life. Traditionally, the things people used in their everyday life—clothing, tools, housing, containers—were often decorated to enhance their beauty and their spirituality. Prior to the European invasion, the Indian people of the Plateau area—roughly the area between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest—decorated their clothing and other items with paintings, with beads made from shell, animal teeth, bone, and other items, and with porcupine quills. With the European invasion, new decorative elements became available to the Indians: glass beads. These beads were quickly adopted into the cultures and began to replace and supplement both painting and quilling. The Plateau Indians soon became well-known for their fine bead work. Shown below are some examples of Plateau Indian beadwork which are on display at the museum at the Travelers’ Rest State Park in Lolo, Montana.
![beadwork photo DSCN6788_zps4f083085.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6788_zps4f083085.jpg)
![Beadwork photo DSCN6798_zpsd3fcaf91.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6798_zpsd3fcaf91.jpg)
![photo DSCN6777_zpsee650469.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6777_zpsee650469.jpg)
![photo DSCN6763_zps7619c503.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6763_zps7619c503.jpg)
Moccasins:
![moccasins photo DSCN6776_zps64b5c012.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6776_zps64b5c012.jpg)
![Mocassins photo DSCN6774_zpsb7ab6648.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6774_zpsb7ab6648.jpg)
![Beadwork photo DSCN6773_zpsf40c26ca.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6773_zpsf40c26ca.jpg)
![Mocassins photo DSCN6772_zps28667cea.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6772_zps28667cea.jpg)
![Mocassins photo DSCN6770_zps10792108.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6770_zps10792108.jpg)
Gloves:
![gloves photo DSCN6769_zpsc364c538.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6769_zpsc364c538.jpg)
![gloves photo DSCN6768_zps6655ea3f.jpg](http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Ojibwa/Travelers%20Rest/Plateau%20Indians/DSCN6768_zps6655ea3f.jpg)
Cross Posted at Native American Netroots
An ongoing series sponsored by the Native American Netroots team focusing on the current issues faced by American Indian Tribes and current solutions to those issues.