By Mary Ferguson December 19, 2007
Oddly
enough, it was apparently the Comanche of the Central Plains, right in the
middle of the North American continent, who invented the beaded breastplates.
They first appeared between 1854 and 1867, and soon spread through most of the
nomadic Plains groups, including the Sioux, Kiowa, and Apache. Dentalium beads
were also used as hair-pipes, and before breastplates became popular, they were
mostly strung and worn as necklaces. Think of them as the ID
lanyards of their day.
The old ways
Native Americans were using beads long before Minuit and his friends came
offering glass and ceramic trade beads (which soon became wildly popular because
of their wonderful luster and durability). In pre-Contact days, beads weren't
available at a handy online
jewelry store the way they are now, so the Indians were forced to make do
with the same natural materials that people the world over used: shell, stone,
horn, bone, turtle carapace, ivory, seeds, wood, teeth, and claws. Often the
beads were dyed, in order to add a little color beyond what Mother Nature
provided. Porcupine quills were soaked in water to soften them, and cut up to be
used much as glass and ceramic seed beads would be used later: to embroider
clothing and footwear for ceremonial use. The original seed beads were seeds
indeed, which had also been soaked in water in order to soften them so that the
embroiderer's needles could pierce them.
Items that weren't so amenable to piercing had to be drilled laboriously by
hand. Often they also had to be carefully and tediously rolled into shape,
especially if they were made of harder materials like stone; wood, of course,
could be carved. Most larger beads were destined to be strung and used for
necklaces, rather than in embroidery.
Modern Indian Beading
Beading and quillwork are arts that are still very much alive in modern
Native American societies. Native American artisans not only still craft
ceremonial items from hand, for use in both religious and secular events (such
as powwows), but they also offer a vast array of high-quality traditional
beadwork for sale. Much of the beadwork is done on items of apparel, from
buckskin blouses to lovely moccasins, but accessories like beaded purses,
sashes, belts, and bandolier bags, are also available. Then, of course, there's
the beaded jewelry that some artisans make, from hair-pipe chokers and deerskin
bracelets to peyote-stitch necklaces of uncommon beauty. You can even get beaded
hatbands, religious amulets, fetishes, and medicine bags, not to mention wampum
belts made from both genuine quahog marine shells or acrylic beads (your
choice). If you look hard enough, you can most likely find any number of beaded
lanyards, the better to accessorize your work ID or, if you're a Boy Scout or
hiker, your orienteering compass. Sure, there's nothing wrong with those printed
lanyards your hardworking office manager provides, but nothing beats a nice
piece of beadwork.
Published with permission (FCDMInc)
Summary: Indian Beading: Of all the peoples who have made
beadwork a part of their culture, it's arguable that the Native Americans have
brought it to its highest artistic levels. Many people think only of wampum and
necklaces when they think of Indian beading, but traditionally there's much more
to it than that. That's the topic we explore in the following article.
read also:
american-indian | american indian basket
| American Indians
