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Charles Pushetonequa Sr.

Meskwaki, 1913-1987

BiographyPushetonequa lived in the only American Indian settlement in Iowa which lies among the wooded slopes and marshy bottomlands of the Iowa River, an hour west of Cedar Rapids. The Meskwaki, whose name means “Red-Earth People.

In 1955 project director Robert Reitz, University of Chicago, helped local artist Charles Pushetonequa and other Meskwaki craftsmen to start a cooperative that produced greeting cards and decorative ceramic tiles with images from Pushetonequa’s paintings. The business, known as Tama Indian Crafts, or Tamacraft, attracted more workers than could be included and initially flourished, selling its products to gift shops around the country. Management difficulties and a lack of capital undermined the cooperative’s successes. Pushetoneequa is known for: figure-genre Indian ceremony painting.

Person TypeIndividual