Where did the copper come from that was made into some of the most iconic artifacts in North American archaeology? How can we tell? Where does the availability of float copper fit into the picture? How did the tradition of copper usage in the North differ from that in the Southeast? These are just a few of the questions facing Mississippian specialists as they attempt to sort out the origins and trajectories of this revered metal. The author gives his perspective from Michigan and the upper Great Lakes, the largest source of native copper on the planet.