Colorful hanks — strings knotted together with 4,000 tiny seed beads — create a wall-sized rainbow at the Mille Lacs Indian Trading Post near Onamia, Minn. Sunset oranges, raspberry reds and lupine purples catch the eyes of visitors who have walked across this historic store's wood floors for more than a century.
The work of more than 250 Indian artists lines the shelves and display cases — beaded flowers on barrettes, feather-themed earrings, intricate birchbark baskets, prairie star quilts, buttery-soft moccasins.
A dozen of us are trying to choose just three hanks each for a two-day beading workshop at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum next door.
Others drape pinks, shiny silver and shimmering greens across the counter, picturing flower petals and leaves. I finally opt for royal blue, spring green and what the clerk aptly dubs "mac-and-cheese" yellow.
While the museum is closed for all but workshops until spring, I know that its centerpiece — the circular Four Seasons room — features life-size dioramas of what Ojibwe families did throughout the year. Winter was the time for gathering indoors, sharing stories and working on crafts and tools.
Our class sits along the windows in the airy lobby, while powwow drums and singing play softly over speakers. We carefully stitch tiny beads to black velvet within view of exhibits, including one that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the jingle dress.
While the dress has been adapted for powwows, it originated near Mille Lacs, where a man had a dream about the dress while his granddaughter was sick during the flu pandemic. It is sewn from cotton with layers of delicate metal cones (originally made from snuff can lids) to create a distinct sound during dances.
Classmates admire a beaded rose on soft leather and birchbark ornaments made by Sandy McMillion of Brainerd, who has come to classes for years.
