Indian Jewelry Making. Vol. 1

Southwestern Indian jewelry has probably become the foremost American craft. It has not only become a monetary investment for millions of Americans but an investment in beauty they can enjoy every minute of the day. We think of it as truly American, and it really is. The squash blossom necklace is composed of three main components all of foreign origins. They are put together in a very unique and original manner. Possibly nowhere else in the world has such a beautiful piece of jewelry been evolved which uniquely belongs to a single people, the Navajo Indians. The concha belt is another example of the foreign elements of design which the Navajo adopted, changed and developed into a very unique piece of jewelry and a symbol of the Navajo nation. True, there are silver belts made and worn by tribes and people around the world but none so unique or individual and even wearable by almost anyone as is the Navajo concha belt. The bracelets that have been designed and made by the Indians, especially the Navajo but also all the Indians of the Southwest, are again unique creations, indigenous to the Southwest even if some of the original ideas are borrowed. They combine the elements of beautiful white silver and lovely blue turquoise, which to them symbolizes the beautiful Western skies. Nowhere in the world is the sky more deep turquoise blue and the clouds more pure silver white than over the Southwest Indian country. It is no wonder living among this natural beauty that such uniquely beautiful jewelry be developed, made and worn by every Indian man, woman, and child and usually in great profusion. Traditional styles and designs were mostly used in the illustrations of this book. There has been no drastic change in Indian jewelry design during the last fifty years although styles are constantly changing under social and economic pressures.

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