Natives used these tiny little glass beads (often called “seed” beads) to bring color to so many different aspects of their life. Because of their size, it is easy to form them into delicate patterns as well as large spaces of color. But where did they get the beads?
While some Native people do lampwork (the process of making glass beads) today, all of the beads seen on artifacts had to be secured through trading. Before the time of trading with Europeans, items were adorned with antler, seed, shell, stone, clay, and wood. While stitching the newly traded for glass beads into complex patterns was still very time consuming, the natives no longer had to spend long hours drilling and shaping natural items into tiny beads. The trade beads also provided many colors not found in nature
