Family

Having been a cradleboard baby himself, Potawatomi artist Ned Daniels of Crandon, Wisconsin sustains Forest County Potawatomi family traditions by making and decorating cradleboards for his grandchildren. As Daniels noted, “A grandfather is real proud and happy that he's got grandchildren. He feels real good about it. So he makes cradleboards.” The copper bell toys hanging from the bentwood protector bar represent a warrior's ornaments while the decorative beadwork and cloth wrap suggest the morning sky, evening stars, and woodland flowers.

Ned Daniels’ great-grandchild fully wrapped in a cradleboard, 1994
Photo by Lewis Koch, Wisconsin Folk Museum Woodland Indian Traditional Artist Documentation Project

Ned Daniels with one of his cradleboards, 1994
Photo by James P. Leary, Wisconsin Folk Museum Woodland Indian Traditional Artist Documentation Project