How to Make Native American Jewelry

A guest post by Jessica Kane
 

  How to Make Native American Jewelry

Native American jewelers define their jewelry as something that uses
more natural materials. For example, they might use semi-precious gems, bones,
shells or feathers to create jewelry. Because Native Americans traded with the
colonists, they also encountered newer materials that they added into their
jewelry, such as glass beads, precious metals like silver and other materials
that they incorporated into their jewelry.

One example of Native American jewelry would be the Squash Blossom
necklace, which is a Navajo necklace. For thousands of years, the Squash
Blossom necklace served as a symbol for people to take power over the forces
that affect society. When the Navajo first started working leather, silver and
other precious metals, that is when they took their culture from a warrior
culture and turned it into more of a merchant culture.

To design your own Native American jewelry, you start by studying
authentic Native American jewelry. You might own a piece of your own, and you
might look at photos of it. This serves as a template for your own plan. Next,
you have to gather the materials that you will need. Some of the materials that have been
used in Native American jewelry include:

Historically and traditionally, the Native Americans put their jewelry
together using leather and plant fibers. They might also have used the tendons
from the animals that they hunted. The thing about the Native Americans is that
they did not waste anything from the animals they hunted.

Designing jewelry comes down to adding your own personal flair to it. To
design a piece of Native American jewelry, you can use coral, turquoise or
another stone to serve as the focal point. When it comes to Native American
bead-based and metalwork jewelry, you have two separate classifications.

The Navajo and other Southwestern Native Americans made a lot of use of
sterling silver. They became so good at it, in fact, that they became famous
for their silver jewelry. However, they did not traditionally work with this
material. Silver working came about when they associated with the Spanish. If
you are going to craft Navajo jewelry that includes turquoise or silver, you
will need an exceptional level of skill. First, you have to learn how to work
with copper and silver. Bead work in Native American jewelry goes back
thousands of years, but they did not work with glass beads until after the
Europeans came to the Americas. Before glass beads, they used other materials
to create beads, including:

If you have a deep interest in learning how to create Native American
jewelry, consider enrolling in a workshop that will teach you how to make
authentic Native American jewelry. If you are serious about the craftsmanship
and you want to go into business for it, this can be a huge help.

Bolo ties remain a unique craft that comes from the Southwestern Native
American tribes. They wore it around the neck, instead of wearing a tie.
Oftentimes, bolos have been made from braided leather or ornamental stones. If
you ever looked at the different Native American jewelry, you might realize
that some jewelry looks similar. This is because a lot of Native American
tribes were influenced by the neighboring tribes. As a result, some of the
jewelry looked strikingly similar. Nevertheless, a lot of Native tribes still
kept their own personality and traditions alive. Another reason that the
differences were less noticeable was because even before the colonization of
the Americas, beads, copper, ivory and amber were huge trade items.

Sometimes the jewelry served a spiritual purpose. For example, sometimes jewelry
that incorporated feathers were intended as a form of prayer. It could also be
a mark of honor or to represent the creative force of nature. If the jewelry
uses an arrowhead, it is said to represent the adventurer in each of us, and it
also represents the hunter. Sometimes, they placed turquoise into their jewelry
because it was said to bring good fortune, strength and help with illnesses.
The natural variations of turquoise were part of their large appeal with the Native
Americans. If you see onyx incorporated into your jewelry, it is believed that
it collects negative energy from those who wear it.