A History of Indian Beadwork
Indian beadwork has been in existence so long that it is virtually
impossible to date. Native American history has been an integral
part of the history of the entire Western hemisphere. History has
often been told through artwork and that is exactly what beadwork
is. The Native American culture has used beadwork patterns on
everything from art to bags to clothing and jewelry. It is not
surprising that both the materials and creation of Indian beadwork
has changed over time.
The earliest American Indian beadwork was made with much different
beads than generally seen today. Obviously they had to use the
materials available to them and that included materials like silver,
ivory, amber, copper, tortoise shell, bones, and stones. While these
materials can still be seen in American Indian beadwork produced
today, it is quite rare. When the settlers came from Europe,
American Indian beadwork changed drastically. They introduced the
Native American to glass beads. It was easier to work with these
glass beads than to have to make beads from the other, harder
materials.
It is difficult to classify Native American beadwork. This is
because there are so many different tribes of Native Americans and
each has its own style and signature pieces. The Plains Indians are
most known for their detailed chokers and peyote stitching. Northern
Indians are most known for their floral beadwork. These are only
some of the common markers indicating the differences in Native
American beadwork. It was common to trade beads both through
merchants and with other tribes. That can make it somewhat confusing
to tell one tribe's work from another if it hasn't been labeled or
reliably passed down through the generations.
Native beadwork has been traded and sold since settlers came to the
country. While early Indian beadwork is handcrafted, it has been
quite awhile since this has been true for all native beadwork. With
an insurgence in popularity, it became only logical to mass produce
native beadwork and pass it off as authentic. More than likely, an
item claiming to be authentic will mean that it is modeled after an
authentic piece of Indian beadwork. It is still possible to purchase
handcrafted native beadwork, but it will take some research to find
a reliable crafter or dealer.
Early Indian beadwork is most notable for the many different
materials used to handcraft the artwork. While the introduction of
glass beads made it easier to create beadwork, it also made the art
slightly less interesting. It also led to the commercialization of
Native American beadwork so much so that it is now quite difficult
to find an authentic, handcrafted beadwork piece.
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