Trade Beads (WHMI 7001) - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery

7. Indigenous peoples of the Columbia Plateau region began trading European glass beads in the late 18th century. During the first half of the 19th century, the Hudson’s Bay Company and other trading companies operating in the region supplied beads such as those shown here. This assortment of 249 beads are examples of what some of these trade beads would have looked like. Blue and green beads were especially popular.

Catalog Number: WHMI 7001
Object Name: Trade Beads
Medium: glass