Cree women in the James Bay area wore woollen leggings decorated with floral patterns worked in beads for ceremonial occasions. For Cree people, hunting was connected to ceremony, and the shape and design of these leggings - which are mirror images of each other - may have had symbolic connections to animals, especially caribou. These leggings likely date from the 1840s when access to tiny glass beads enabled Cree seamstresses to express their artistry on their clothing.
Cree beadwork leggings. Beadwork panels lined with brown silk edged with a black binding. Sewn with white cotton thread. Double bead edging, slightly larger white beads. Black ribbon tiers at the cuffs. Note: edging on the back and front is different. On one side it is a blue zigzag line, and on the other it is white beads sewn in curls.
