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Miimike

About The Artist

Jennifer Adams • White Bear, MN
Jewelry • CUSTOM COMMISSIONS

Jennifer Adams Ho-Chunk & Mvskoke Creek she/her Jennifer Adams is a 21 year old woman who primarily practices the form of beadwork called paaxge. Jennifer started to bead at the age of fifteen, after she graduated high school in 2021 she began to create and produce paaxge earrings on social media. Paaxge is done by weaving beads individually in their rows to create intricate patterns and designs. Paaxge is a traditional form of art specifically practiced by Ho-Chunk people.



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Q&A with the Artist

Tell us how your work is made.

Paaxge is made with cotton thread and seed beads. The beads are weaved to create beautiful, intricate patterns that signify various types of symbolism. Paaxge is almost always split down the middle.Hanging at the bottom you have shells, coins, or other adornments.


What makes you passionate about the medium you work with?

Paaxge is very special to me. I am a multigenerational traditional Ho-Chunk artist. Being able to continue a rare form of traditional weaving/beadwork technique is a privilege. So many Indigenous people across North America have been impacted by the loss of culture. Ho-Chunk people have always been weavers, notorious for our baskets, rugs and adornments. Being able to showcase how beautiful and unique paaxge is in present day is a reminder that we are resilient.

What is something unique about you or your practice?

Typically most of the beadwork you see is done with needles. However I do not use them and I am using the smallest Czech or Japanese beads on the market to produce paaxge. Beeswax is how I bind my threads together.