Native American Beadwork

By the time Columbus discovered America, Native American were already using beads for decoration. Beads were made from shells, bones, claws stones and minerals. The Algonquin and Iroquois tribes of the eastern coast made beads from clams, conch, periwinkle and other seashells. These beads were used as a medium of exchange by the early Dutch and English colonists. They were called “wampum,” meaning strings of shell beads. The purple beads had twice the value of the white ones. The explorer, followed by the trader, missionary and settler, soon discovered that he had a very good trade item in glass beads brought from Europe. The early beads that were used were about 1/8″ in diameter, nearly twice as large as beads in the mid 1800′s. They were called pony beads and were quite irregular in shape

Hand Crafted Native American Bead Work

and size. The colors most commonly used were sky blue, white and black. Other less widely used colors were deep buff, light red, dark red, and dark blue. The small round seed beads, as they are called, are the most generally used for sewed beadwork. They come in a variety of colors. Those most commonly used by

Native Americans are red, orange, yellow, light blue, dark blue, green, lavender, and black.

Fred Harvey Influence Native American Jewelry

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.examiner.com/judaism-in-albuquerque/appetite-for-america-fred-harvey-by-stephen-fried-opens-the-2011-jcc-book-fest

People Defend Their Peace

For many generations the Pima and Tohono O’odham had scratched a iving from the harsh Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona, dwelling in harmony with the land and thier neighbors. Both groups were descendants of the ancient Hohokam. The Pima, known as the River People, lived in villages like their forebears and irrigated their corn and cotton with water from the Gila and Salt rivers. Their cousins the Tohono O’odham (formally called the Papago, from a Pima term meaning “bean people”) hunted and foraged in the drier hills along the Mexican border. Although generally peaceful, they could be formidable opponents. Forced to defend themselves against Apache raiders, they battled with heavy clubs and shot arrows tipped with rattlesnake toxin. Yet the Pimans saw war as evil, and if a Pima warrior killed a man, he cleansed himself by fasting in seclusion for 16 days while a Shaman serformed special rites to decontaminate his weapons. With the arrival of the Spanish, the Pimans forged an alliance with the newcomers against their Apache foes. The raids began to subside. When the first Spanish missionary, Jesuit Kino, came to live with them in 1687, they took up wheat farming, along with cattle and horse ranching. But if the PImans hated the Apache, neither would they sit content under white domination. They staged major revolts against the Spanish in 1695 and 1751. And until 1856, when Mexico lost control of the region, foreign governors were never quite sure if the Pimans were their friends or foes.

Hand Made Papago Basket

Kachina Dolls

Native American Kachina Doll

Among all Pueblo people, religion continues to play a vital role in daily life. At the heart of religious life, particularly among western groups like the Hopi and Zuni, were the infinitely helpful Kachinas, also called katsinas. In a world infused by supernatural forces, each visible object had a spiritual counterpart., a devine essence as real as the thing itself. A Kachina can be an ancestor spirit, or it can be the spirit of  an animal or a plant or anything that is beneficial to the people. Often you really do not know the meaning behind it, all you know is that it will perform for you. it brings rain, and it carried messages. Six months of every year the kachinas resided in the mountains to the west, where they could be seen as cloud banks gathering above the peaks. Then shortly after the winter solstice, they would return to the pueblo. Summoned in secret Kiva ceremonies, the kachinas arrived through the sipapu hole in the floor to act as intermediaries between the spirit realm and the world of humans. During their stay the kachinas became the center of the pueblo’s ceremonial life. On important occasions the men of the kachina society, gloriously masked and costumed, would emerge from the kivas and pour into the village square to dance and chant. As each dancer performed, he would receive the spirit of the kachina he represented and so acquire the power to send prayers to the deities. One of the Kachinas tasks was to maintain discipline among the pueblo’s children and to instruct them in religious matters. Each boy and girl at an early age received a wooden kachina doll, called a tithu in Hopi, carved from cottonwood root by the men of the kiva and given out during the dances. When children were good, the kachinas would leave them presents. But should they misbehave, akachina would appear, brandishing a yucca whip or cottonwood switch, and treat them to the fright of their young lives. Some observers have said that the Pueblo “dance all year round,” This may be true, and was more the case in the past, since their ceremonial calendar covers the whole year. Through dance and song one can realize a since of rebirth. During the February Bean Dance festival, boys eight or nine years of age were assembled in the kiva, where the Kachina Chief recited the creation story. Suddenly, with a terrifying cry, other kachinas entered, carrying whips. Each boy received four memorable lashes, after which gifts of sacred feathers and cornmeal were presented. Then, after further ceremony and a sumptuous feast, the kachinas peeled off their masks showing themselves to be men of the village. Then began the serious business of instructing the children in the moral and spiritual truths of Pueblo life. To see a great collection visit Alltribes. Ken A

Arizona Local Star Digs Turquoise

"Turquoise is In"

The New Alltribes Native American Jewelry Collection

This unbelievable Antique Vintage Native American Jewelry Collection is from the personal collection of Barbra Felfot. Felfot had been in the Native American art and jewelry business for over 40 years, and only purchased the “best of the best” for her own personal collection. Upon her passing, Felfot’s husband Mel offered to let us choose 100 extraordinary pieces to add to our already incredible inventory. The rest of her collection will be sold to Native American museums. Mrs. Felfots collection features some of the finest Royston, Carico Lake, Kingman, and Landers turquoise ever put into jewelry. These pieces range from concho belts, squash blossoms, cuff bracelets and rings. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity! These pieces of Americana will only increase in value over time.

This mosaic inlay full Rainbow Man Zuni Squash Blossom Necklace was hand crafted by Zuni Artists Herbert and Esther Cellicion, husband and wife. It was first purchased in 1974. The Cellicion’s pieces are among the finest hand crafted Native American Zuni Inlay work in the Southwest. Each featured piece in this set is adorned with genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, black jet, mother of pearl, Mediterranean coral, gold lip and shell abalone. The abalone is a tell tale sign that this piece is truly collectible. It is extremely rare to find abalone complementing Native American jewelry and was often used by the traditional Zuni silversmiths.

This Zuni Squash Blossom Necklace set features ten squash blossoms measuring 1 3/4″ by 1 1/4″ and are strung together with 8mm seam beads. The featured naja measures 4″ by 2 1/2″ and centers the masterpiece perfectly. This Zuni Rainbow Man Kachina Necklace measures 30″ from end to end and uses a traditional hook and eye closer.

The Zuni cuff bracelet is perfectly matched with the necklace set and features the Rainbow Man Kachina surrounded by hand cut mosaics on a three wire cuff. This Zuni inlaid bracelet measures 2″ tall and 2 5/8″ wide. It will fit a size 5 1/2″ to 7″ wrist.

Not to be out done, this set also features a beautiful broach pendant, which is extremely rare, as part of a Native American Zuni Squash Blossom Set. Herbert and Esther created this extra addition which measures 1 1/2″ by 1 1/4″. Hallmarked and signed this broach pendant can be worn as a pendant or with the fastening pin attached.

A great addition to this Rainbow Man Kachina Squash Blossom are the Zuni Earrings which measure 1 1/2″ by 1 1/4″ and hang appropriately from 10mm seam beads adorned with a turquoise stone. These post earrings are the perfect addition to this Zuni Necklace Set

The final piece to this Rainbow Man Zuni Squash Blossom Set is a Zuni Ring. The Mosaic Inlay finish is adorned with all the trimmings and measures 1 1/2″ by 1 1/4″ and the ring will fit a size 9.

Rainbow Man Kachinas, a Zuni symbol, is the Kachina of harmony. This is a sign of the Great Mystery that gives humans the privilege of roaming this great planet. Herbert and Esther Cellion’s master craftsmanship is extremely organized. Herbert used Turquoise, Black Jet, both white and Gold Lip, Mother of Pearl and Mediterranean Coral with was first purchased in 1974.

Native American Jewelry

A Great Turquoise Find! 1898

One of the largest turquoise finds in North America happened in Chaco Canyon in Northwestern New Mexico. In 1898 at the Pueblo Bonito, George Hubbard Pepper excavated thousands of mosaics, carvings, beads and pendants. The former inhabitants that George H Pepper excavated in a burial room were greatly adorned with turquoise of all shapes and sizes. One of the objects was a “Bone Scrapper” formed from the humerus of a deer or elk and decorated with Jet (decayed wood formed under extreme pressure) and Turquoise showing considerable taste and skill in execution and design. Ano

Hand Carved Buffalo Statue

ther is a head ornament made of polished jet and its four corners decorated with circular turquoise stones undoubtably hand carved with great detail. Also found, were jet and turquoise ornaments or better known today as fetishes, carved into frogs or toads; it’s body carefully rounded and polished; the eyes are two large rounded pieces of turquoise standing boldly out, and across the neck is a broad inlaid band of turquoise. A suite of eight duck-like birds, carved from decomposed turquoise of a pale pale blueish green color were amongst the find. The figures were probably roughed out with a stone implement and then ground to the desired shape with sandstone grinders. In addition, the ruins yielded a quantity of turquoise pendants and beads, mostly green but one was a delicate blue.

One burial room in particular has served as the subject of a special paper by George Pepper and the number and variety of turquoise ornaments found there is remarkable. From the neck, breast, waist, wrist and ankles of several of the skeletons, turquoise beads to the number of several thousand were collected, together with pendants and carved pieces. Near one of the bodies was a “turquoise jewel basket,” of cyndrical shape three inches in diameter and six inches long. Consisting of slender splints, over which a mosaic of turquoise slabs had been cemented by pinion gum. The basketwork had decayed, but the mosaic was held in place by the sand in which the object was buried. One thousand two hundred and fourteen pieces of turquoise had formed the mosaic, and within and near the mouth of the cylinder were found 2,150 disk shaped turquoise beads and 174 turquoise pendants mostly of various carved birds. Pictured above is a recent carved fetish made here at Alltribes Native American Art by Navajo artist Tony Turpin.

Authentic Navajo Rug

The Real Deal Authentic Navajo Native American Rug

This Navajo Wool Rug is a beautiful piece of history. Richard went to Globe, AZ recently to visit the Sleeping Beauty Mine. When he was done with his business there he stopped in every antique shop in town (there are about 50 now) until he found this exceptional old Navajo Rug. This vintage hand woven traditional rug is made entirely from genuine wool dyed with materials indigenous to the reservation. The golden color is derived from something and the brown most likely from onion skins. This is a tight, symmetrical rug with a warp of 6 strands/inch and about 14 wefts per linear inch. All of the wool for this rug has been hand carded, spun, and woven by a Navajo rug weaver. This gorgeous genuine Navajo rug is 40-1/2″ long by 30″ wide, or about 3-1/3 feet by 2-1/2 feet.

Native American Bone Chokers

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Native American Bone Chokers

The Native American bone choker has become a symbol of both Native American folklore and contemporary fashion. Originally, the traditional bone choker was worn by Native American to physically and symbolically protect the throat and the voice. Traditionally made from bird legs and sinew from different accessible animals, the bone choker was not simply a fashionable piece of Native American jewelry but the process by which a person would construct and value the work was both intricate and complicated.

Depending on the tribe, bone chokers were not something made by an individual but a specific member of the tribe would be designated and authorized to construct and bless these bone chokers. There are hundreds of stories and that have been passed down through generations and it is in the eyes of the interpreter to decide its meaning.

Today contemporary fashion has taken the traditional bone choker and brought it into mainstream. Several movie stars and notables are wearing turquoise bone chokers and silver bone chokers to accessorize their attire.

Here at Alltribes we manufacture, buy, sell and trade all types of Native American bone chokers. Some of these Native American bone chokers are not Native American made and others are. We do not misrepresent any of our bone chokers and clearly notify the customer if they are authentic Native American made bone chokers or purchase from another entity. We will only certify bone chokers if we are 100% sure they are in fact Native made.

We hope that all bone chokers are worn with the respect and appreciation of the folklore which they represent and hope they bring you protection, peace and even glamour.

Hand Made Eagle Bone Choker

Turquoise Stories!

http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2008/07/genuine-article/morelli-text/1

Great Read!