Trade beads - Skunk pairs

Matched pairs of antique “skunk” trade beads. These would have been produced in Venetia during the 1800’s for the fur trade.

Colour varies from a true red to a deeper red.

Our relationship to these objects is very complicated. They were produced by skilled craftsmen for the purpose of trade, and their colour, arrangement and beauty affirms the skill of these people. However, from the standpoint of those traders, these beads were of little value relative to the resources they extracted from Indigenous peoples. Though they were created to exploit, we also believe in the agency of our people then and today to follow and live by their own economies and systems of value. We are happy to have been able to source these and we believe that their continued value to our people affirms our continued agency and rooting in cultural values, and serves as an important reminder about these histories.

The beads pictured are not of the exact pairs that you will receive, they are examples of the colors available. These are hand made antiques, each bead is unique.