While normally worn on clothing, brooches have also served a variety of decorative purposes. They might decorate infants' swaddling bands, or fasten sashes and belts. According to Paul Kane, who crossed Canada in mid-nineteenth century, Indians even wore brooches in their hair. The brooches always had an opening in the centre and a tongue on the front across the opening. Any material which could be pushed up through the opening from the back and then pierced with the tongue to hold the brooch in place was a suitable base for a brooch.
