Seed Bead History and Use by Native American Tribes
The purpose of this article is to provide a thumbnail sketch of the history of one of the most popular trade items used in Native American craftwork. The use of the “seed bead” by Native Americans beginning in the 1800s was the result of hundreds of years of European glass technology intersecting with the westward expansion of the United States across the continent.
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Seed Beads & Pony Beads.. MIX OR MATCH?
The more a crafter uses seed and pony beads, the more he realizes that there is a lot to learn just about the beads themselves. Most of us start by using Czech beads, then discover modern-made beads from Italy, France, Germany, India, China, Pakistan, Japan, Taiwan, and elsewhere. But we figure that selecting beads will be easy, because they come in different size designations, and most everyone sells these according to the Czech system. . .
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Native American Tribal Bead Color Preferences
The use of colors by Indian beadworkers varies widely among the many different tribes throughout the U.S. & Canada. These are general guidelines for some of the better known beadworking tribes. Many exceptions to this can be found, but this provides a basis for staying within the traditions for these tribes. One should also be aware that many variations of hues existed within given shades of colors, and these varied from factory to factory as well as in different lots from the same factory.
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