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Though it is true that tribes and groups of Native Americans had different crafts and arts their jewelry was closely related with each other because of the use of the same materials such as beads, shells, copper, silver, turquoise and other stones. This made it so that the designs created within them may be different but the use of the jewelry was related such as earrings or necklaces.
Then as the introduction of colonization to North America the Natives started to accept the new metalwork technique and took on materials such as glass beads. Though they accepted these changes this does not mean that they lost their traditions, they still used the beads in designs that represented their heritage and they used the traditional symbols. Also after the introduction of silversmithing to the Southern Natives during the 1800’s the creation of American Indian jewelry flourished to an accomplished level.
Especially in the case of the bead work as of pre-Columbian times they used very complicated, intrical practices to create magnificent images through their bead work. The use of beads still prevails today and man native artists are well known for their ability to create pieces of art through this medium.
Posted by Silversmith (March 12, 2009)
