Quillwork and Beadwork: How Native Artists Decorated Clothing, and How Trade Changed It

October 22, 2026 C.B. Shaw

How did Native American artists decorate clothing before and after glass beads? Long before Europeans arrived, many nations decorated garments with dyed porcupine quills, shell, bone and other natural materials. Glass trade beads came later and were folded into existing design traditions rather than replacing them. On the Plains, beadwork followed quillwork and became a dominant art by the second half of the 1800s. And neither art is dead: both are still practiced today.

One thing before we start. “Native American” covers hundreds of distinct nations, each with its own traditions, languages and styles. Where we can, we name the nation a source is talking about, and where a source only says “Plains peoples,” we say that instead of pretending one tradition stands for all. Where we could not find a solid source, we say so. We are a clothing brand, not a museum, and we would rather give you a smaller true story than a bigger shaky one.

What is quillwork?

Quillwork is embroidery done with porcupine quills. Britannica describes it as an art that ranged “from Maine to Virginia and westward to the Rocky Mountains,” with quills sewn onto tobacco and tinder bags, cradles, tunics, leggings, moccasins, robes, horse trappings and birchbark containers. The quills are naturally white, and Britannica says makers dyed them with colors from roots, plants, tree buds and bark, in red, yellow, green, blue and black.

Britannica also says men's decorations related to hunting and war, while children's garments often carried prayers for safety, long life and prosperity. (Britannica's article also says the art “has died out” for all practical purposes. That's outdated, and we explain why below.)

How it was done: one Lakota family's practice

We found few detailed first-hand descriptions, so here is the best one. The US National Endowment for the Arts honored Alice New Holy Blue Legs, a Lakota quill artist from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, as a 1985 National Heritage Fellow. According to the NEA's profile, her family hunted porcupines with trained dogs, ideally before a storm. They pulled the quills, sorted them by size, washed them, dried them and dyed them with liquid dyes. Most of her quillwork was wrapped or stitched, with plaiting used for pipe stems. The NEA describes the art as extremely complex, requiring “a high degree of skill, experience, and patience.” She learned from her father, Joseph New Holy, who she said “just told me what to do.”

That's one family's practice, not a description of how every Lakota or every nation worked, so we don't present it as the standard method. We also could not find a solid museum source on the older ways quills were gathered, softened and flattened, so we are leaving that out rather than guessing.

Which nations are known for it?

A broad list on Wikipedia names the Cheyenne, Blackfoot Confederacy, Arapaho, Odawa, Red River Ojibwe, Wyandot, Dene, Lakota, Akwesasne Mohawk and Mi'kmaw among nations known for quillwork. That's a general reference, so treat it as a starting point. Wikipedia also says the Cheyenne had a prestigious quilling society for women, with a master-and-apprentice system and ceremonial importance. We could not confirm that against a Cheyenne source, so we are passing it along as a lead.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting (December 2018) adds that each quill was attached with a small stitch, which made the work slow, and that among the Lakota, quilled turtle amulets were made to protect babies. It says designs belonged to the woman who made them.

Before glass beads: what else was used?

A Google Arts & Culture story from Red Earth (an Oklahoma City Native arts organization) says that before sustained European contact in the 1500s, peoples of the Great Lakes, Eastern Woodlands and Plains used shell, bone, stone, porcupine quills and copper for decoration, dyed with plants and stitched with sinew or plant fibers. Dentalium shells and elk teeth were prized. The takeaway is simple: Native people were decorating clothing long before glass beads. The idea that decoration only started when Europeans showed up with beads is false.

When glass beads arrived

The dates depend on the region, and we found good sources for the Plains only.

Plains: The Buffalo Bill Center of the West (Plains Indian Museum, 2015) says glass beads reached the Plains through Native trade routes even before Europeans arrived there. Larger “pony beads” (named for the pack trains that carried them) appeared in the early 1800s, and small seed beads were traded in bulk from about 1840, credited to the standardization of manufacturing in Venice and other eastern European countries. Beadwork followed quillwork and became a dominant Plains art by the second half of the 1800s.
Missouri: The University of Missouri Museum of Anthropology (2007) says glass beads were European in origin and not widely used until the mid-1800s, supplied by the fur trade, and that the smaller beads of the 1840s allowed finer designs. The two sources agree if you read “widely” carefully: early pony beads, then seed beads in bulk around 1840 and wider use by mid-century.
Great Lakes and the East: Red Earth says glass seed beads came with European contact in the 1500s and traveled inland through trade in the 1600s to 1800s. We found only that one source, so treat the early dates as unconfirmed.

A trade museum blog says Venice was the main source Native buyers preferred, with smaller amounts from the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic. Many bead sellers say Czech beads dominated the 1800s and 1900s supply. We could not find a museum source for that, so we are not stating it as fact.

Why beads took over (and why it was not just “because Europeans brought them”)

Beads were colorful, durable, and quicker to apply than quills. SDPB says glass beads made quillwork less common until a revival in the 1900s. But Red Earth's phrasing is the one that sticks with us: beads were “folded into Indigenous design traditions.” In other words, Native artists took a new material and made it their own. That's the opposite of a passive story.

It also didn't make everything look the same. Red Earth says Great Lakes beadwork leaned toward floral patterns and Plains beadwork toward bold geometric designs. It names examples from specific nations: a Lakota cradleboard cover (1885), Cheyenne cradleboards (1890 and 1900), an Ojibwe beaded bandolier bag (about 1900 to 1910), a Meskwaki (Fox) loom-beaded sash and a Kiowa infant boy's buckskin jacket (about 1870s). These are examples of individual objects, not “the” style of those nations.

Loom beading

The Missouri museum says loom use was not common in early beadwork and spread later in the 1800s, valued for “a more consistent product” than sewing beads onto leather or cloth, with a simple square weave being the popular method. We could not verify who first used a beading loom, so we are not naming an inventor.

Is quillwork a dead art?

No. SDPB reports a quillwork revival in the 1900s, and the NEA honored a quill artist in 1985. Britannica's line about the art dying out is outdated. We did not find enough verified information to name other living artists, and we won't name people unless we can confirm who they are and where they're from. If you want to see living work, a good place to look is the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and tribal museums.

Quillwork and beadwork myths, graded

“Quillwork is a dead art.” False. A revival and a federal honor show it continues.
“Native people only started decorating clothing when Europeans brought beads.” False. Quills, shell, bone, copper and dentalium came first.
“All Native beadwork looks the same.” False. Floral Great Lakes work and geometric Plains work are different traditions, and designs could belong to the maker.
“Beads were forced on Native people.” Unverified. Sources describe beads being traded and then incorporated into Indigenous design.
“Only women did beadwork.” Not established. One source says decorative quillwork before the 1900s was women's work, but that is a broad claim from a single source, so we are not repeating it as a rule.

Questions people ask

What is quillwork?

Embroidery with dyed porcupine quills, used on bags, moccasins, robes, tunics, cradles and more by many Native nations.

What is the difference between quillwork and beadwork?

Quillwork uses porcupine quills, which were used long before European contact. Beadwork uses glass beads, which arrived through trade and became a dominant Plains art in the second half of the 1800s.

What did Native Americans decorate clothing with before glass beads?

Shell, bone, stone, porcupine quills and copper, plus prized dentalium shells and elk teeth, according to Red Earth.

When did glass beads arrive on the Plains?

Pony beads in the early 1800s and small seed beads in bulk from about 1840, per the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Where did the glass beads come from?

Venice was the main source according to a trade museum blog, with smaller amounts from other parts of Europe. We could not confirm the often-repeated claim that Czech beads dominated.

How were porcupine quills prepared?

One documented Lakota family sorted, washed, dried and dyed them. The NEA profile of Alice New Holy Blue Legs describes this as one family's practice, not a universal method.

Is quillwork still practiced?

Yes. SDPB reports a 1900s revival, and the NEA honored a Lakota quill artist in 1985.

Did all Native nations make quillwork?

No. It was practiced across a wide area, but traditions varied by nation. Wikipedia lists the Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Arapaho, Odawa, Red River Ojibwe, Wyandot, Dene, Lakota, Akwesasne Mohawk and Mi'kmaw among known quillwork traditions.

What is loom beadwork?

Beads woven on a loom instead of sewn onto leather. A university museum says it spread later in the 1800s and gave a more consistent product.

Do Great Lakes and Plains beadwork look the same?

No. Red Earth describes Great Lakes beadwork as leaning floral and Plains beadwork as bold and geometric.

Did Native artists choose to use glass beads?

Sources describe beads arriving by trade and being folded into existing design traditions. We found no source for the idea that they were forced on anyone.