Iabiso̱waꞌ ishtalakchiꞌ (Garters) were worn below the knee and were an essential part of Chickasaw men’s regalia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Beaded designs, most likely created by an artist removed from a Great Lakes tribe, or Potawatomi, due to their shared northern border with the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory, were worn by Chickasaws. The design is taken from the garters and placed in an ascending motif, named in tribute to a dear friend of the Potawatomi Tribe.

 *Design inspired by an image found in CHIKASHA: The Chickasaw Collection at the National Museum of the American Indian, Lokosh (Joshua D. Hinson), published by Chickasaw Press.

Poem:

BEADS ADORN SCARRED KNEES

DECORATING THE SKIN OF THE STRONG

BEAUTY AND POWER IN HARMONY