Ska-ba-quay Tesson

Ska-ba-quay Tesson ( – 1929, also known as A Ski Ba Qua, Mrs. Joseph Tesson, or Ash-Que-Pac-Qua ) was a Meskwaki artist who is known for her textile art. Living during a tumultuous transitional period for the Meskwaki nation, Tesson helped maintain and innovate on the practice of textile bags and designs. Tesson’s bag is currently in the collection of the Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is unknown where she spent her youth. During that period, the Meskwaki were in the process of reclaiming their homeland in Iowa, a process that would continue over the next several decades. When museum collectors purchased items from her in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, she was living in Tama, Iowa. In addition to her art, Tesson acted as a cultural informant for anthropologists studying her people.

At an unknown date, Tesson met and married Joseph Tesson, Jr. Of mixed Iowa and French descent, Mr. Tesson was a member of the Meskwaki tribal council as well as an interpreter. Her style included colorful bands and repeating images of Meskwaki figures, including men and horses. Tesson also made bags using buckskin, porcupine quills, and nettle fibers. Later, she incorporated wool yarns and cotton string when these materials became more accessible and affordable.

Tesson’s textiles featured a combination of styles and images. Her bags featured both geometric shapes and symbolic representations of animals, humans, and spiritual beings. Such figures were typically repeated multiple times in between lines and geometric shapes.

Tesson’s textiles were popular among both fellow Meskwaki and American collectors. They visualized Meskwaki culture and society. This made them sought after by those interested in indigenous cultures. However, like many other Native American art pieces, Tesson’s textiles were rarely credited to her as an individual, with many pieces being collected and presented as examples as the Meskwaki cultural tradition as a whole.