His works are characterized by scenes from Ojibwe and Cree oral history and many focus on the relationship between humans and nature.
Beardy's father supported the family as a trapper, hunter, pedlar, gold miner, fisherman and fish filleter.
[2] In 1972 Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier, and Daphne Odjig held a joint exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery titled "Treaty Numbers 23, 287, 1171".
Included alongside Jackson Beardy was Alex Janvier, Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Carl Ray, Eddy Cobiness and Joseph Sanchez.
[2] From 1974 through 1976, Beardy contributed artwork to the covers of numerous books including Ojibway Heritage by Basil Johnston, When the Morning Stars Sang Together by John Morgan, and Almighty Voice by Leonard Peterson.
Also in 1976, Beardy was one of the contributing artists for a Royal Ontario Museum exhibit called, "Contemporary Native Art of Canada: The Woodland Indians" which travelled to Germany and England.
Additionally during this time, he held the position of art advisor and cultural consultant for the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature.
It was again shown in 1995, in an exhibit called "Jackson Beardy: A Life's Work" at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
[2] This Woodlands style of artistic expression can be seen in the central role Beardy's Anishinaabe heritage plays within his work.
[2] His art draws on a deep knowledge of his native Cree tradition gained from a close childhood relationship with his grandmother and from his systematic collection of myths and legends in northern Manitoba.
His distinctive graphic style contrasts precise, black outlines with defined areas of rich colour.