A majority of southeastern artworks were lost when they were removed from their homes and moved to storage. It is thanks to portable objects collected or purchased by Westerners that Southeastern art survives. The main example that this article will draw from is a shoulder bag titled only Shoulder Bag made by the Cherokee people in the 1830s, during the height of shoulder bag production. It measures 20 x 23.5 cm and is currently held by the University of California, San Diego. A crossbody bag is a bag that is worn over the shoulder with a large panel and a small pocket. The beading usually covers the strap as well as the front panel. Depending on the region, the strap ends with fringes and different shapes. Almost universally, the bead pattern on the strap changes into a similar but distinctly different pattern as it reaches the top of the arc and moves back down. Most bag designs have a strong sense of balance but actively avoid symmetry. They also generally operate within a limited color palette, with certain colors associated with different tribes. Although the most well-known form of Southeastern beadwork is the crossbody bag, beadwork was also used in clothing such as belts and beaded panels. In some areas, such as the Great Lakes, shoulder bags became objects for displaying artfully designed beads and lost their supporting function.