Click on the photo to see a close up of the bead work.

These beaded men's cuffs or armbands show a traditional Great Lakes design. Native Americans used the things they saw around them as patterns for their work. In the Great Lakes area animals, birds, fish, and flowers were often used as designs for beadwork.

The beadwork was done on a loom made by bending a sapling into a bow shape and running string from one end to another until you had the loom as wide as you wanted it. The length of the sapling used determined the length of the loom. Beads were laced through the string, one row at a time. Before the Native People had cloth string (which they obtained from trading with Europeans), they used sinew. The beads used for these cuffs were also obtained from trading.

Dr. Benson, owner of the Fort de Buade Museum, does not know how old the cuffs are. From studying the condition and fading colors of the beads, it has been estimated that these were made sometime between 1880 and the turn of the century.