Find Out More About American Indian Beaded Earring Techniques
There are many different styles of American/Canadian Beaded Earrings. Some have to do with technique whereas others have to do with the teachings of the tribes/bands.
Contents
Steps
- Know that most colors and patterns in Native Art and Jewellery hold special meanings. Some of these meanings are very broad and vast whereas others have to do with family and/or beliefs.
- Go to your local bookstore, preferably a larger one which has a greater inventory and where you can research the various styles of Native American/Canadian Beaded Earrings, as the variety is quite vast. They can be very simple in both design and color, yet they can also be very detailed and tedious.
- Find a local Indian/Native Friendship Centre (in your area, most cities and larger towns have one although you may struggle in Timaru or Wisbech) or a Native Community Centre if you happen to live close to a Native American Reserve. Most Friendship Centres offer various classes. Sometimes, there may be a small fee, if any at all, usually due to the cost of the materials, that teach Native Craft which could include earrings. Sometimes, if the classes are unavailable, they will help you find somebody who may out of the goodness of their heart teach you one-on-one. One thing is that if a certain class isn't available, they may try to start one up if the demand is there, so keep checking!
Tips
- Make sure to study up on this subject.
- If you are the shy-type and you're still not entirely comfortable with going to a Native Friendship Centre or to a Reserve on your own, you can usually get the info you need or want by phone.
- Another piece of advice is to mainly stick to silver. Though it is found, you don't usually see too much gold in Native Jewellery. Turquoise is always a good bet for native-wear as are shells and natural elements ie. wooden beads, feathers, stone, coral, bone, clay, etc. You can find simple small turquoise glass beads as well as real Turquoise Stone beads that range in all shapes and sizes. You can find them to be very affordable if you shop around and can be bought both in bulk or by the bead.
- Many Friendship and Community Centres have Elder Assistance Programs, they're called different things in different areas, which are usually aimed at pairing an Elder with a protege. These programs can be very rewarding as you can both learn a great detail about each other. Elders are highly respected citizens in the Native Community and usually have a vast knowledge of the traditional methods and ways of their peoples and learning & hearing their stories and words can help in making higher quality and more impressive arts & crafts - and in your case pieces of jewellery.
- Don't be afraid of approaching these centres as they are always welcoming of everyone! Explain what it is exactly that you are looking for and they will usually be happy to help point you into the right direction.
- If you can find them, Porcupine Quills are excellent for making beaded earrings and decorations. These are what Native ladies used before the white man came with glass trading beads from Europe! They are naturally hollow through the center and can be dyed different colors. As long as you're careful the options are limitless as to what you can do with them. They're also quite beautiful with the right accents and/or even on their own!
- You'll see some links to some sites that may be helpful. Some offer instructional kits with everything that you would need to make the perfect pair of earrings.
- If you still don't have any luck in finding what you need simply continue to browse through the vast resource of books on the subject. You can even find these books at your public libraries and many of them have very thorough and detailed images and guides to help you along!
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