Shannon Fast Horse, Lakota
Hand Beaded Buffalo Skull Necklace

NBJ-30
Shannon Fast Horse, Lakota
Beaded Buffalo Skull Pendant
(ONLY ONE AVAILABLE)

Leather laces 18 inches long, can be tied to preferred necklace length.

Soft buckskin back.

Buffalo or Bison?

The majestic animals that roamed the US plains by the millions were American bison or Plains bison. There are also similar bison that free range in Poland and other European countries. Bison have large humps at their shoulders, massive heads, beards and thick winter coats that they shed in the spring.

Bison are often erroneously called buffalo. In 1913 the Buffalo nickel (AKA Indian Head nickel) was struck. The coin's designer, James Earle Fraser, said he wanted to use a symbol of the American west and felt that "a North American Indian and a buffalo fitted into the picture perfectly." Technically, it should be called the bison nickel.

Buffalo live in South Asia (Water Buffalo) or Africa (Cape Buffalo). Buffalo have smooth, thin hair coats, no hump, no beard and have smaller heads but larger horns than a bison.

About Beads

Beads used by Native American artists are usually round but can be flattened (rondelle) or cylindrical. They are usually made of glass and come in a variety of colors. Most are one solid color except for European Trade Beads, which are mulit-colored and sometimes decorated. Beads are measured by the "aught" system with 1/0, pronounced "one aught", being the largest. The larger the number the smaller the bead.

Seed beads are the smallest round beads, 24/0 to 4/0. 24/0 is approx. 1/32 inch (about the size of a grain of sand). Seed beads are used mainly for beaded items and embroidery.
Pony Beads are 5/0 to 6/0 (4.5 mm to 4 mm).
Trade Beads are 3/0 to 4/0
Crow Beads are the largest, 1/0 to 2/0. 1/0 is approx. 1/4 inch.

1 /0= 6.5mm
2 /0= 6.0mm
3 /0= 5.5mm
4 /0= 5.0mm
5 /0= 4.5mm
6 /0= 4.0mm

Most contemporary high-quality seed beads are made in the Czech Republic, Japan or India.