Indian Jewelry - Southwest Fashion

Check out the different types of Native American Indian jewelry from many parts of North America, including the American Southwest.

Indian Jewelry has been around for a very long time. However, it is more than just a Southwest Fashion statement. It is a symbol of a culture that was talented in many aspects including jewelry and art. Indian Jewelry is popular today just as it was years and years ago. It will continue to remain popular because it is beautiful, unique, and has meaning to many people.

The materials that most people associate with Indian jewelry are turquoise and copper. However, there were a number of materials that Indian jewelry incorporated. Native Americans incorporated materials that were easily found in their environment such as turquoise, bone, amber, silver, ivory, copper, shells, and other materials.

Jewelry served an important role in Native American culture. It was used in trade with other tribes and people. How much Indian jewelry a person owned was a sign of a Native American's wealth. Indian jewelry was a type of currency in a way. It was the amount of trade that led the advancements in Indian jewelry as one tribe adopted the techniques of others.  This included the Navajo tribe that traded often with the Spanish.

Indian jewelry often contains symbols that come from the Native American culture. Dream catchers are a very common symbol in Native American culture that has translated easily into Indian jewelry. Some Native American jewelry resembles the symbols a person might find written on a cave wall. This is part of the charm of Indian jewelry.

Beaded Indian jewelry is also very common. The intricate designs of Indian jewelry have been present for many, many years. The materials that Native Americans used for beads were varied. Many materials could be made into beads including turquoise and bone. The techniques used to create these beaded Indian jewelry was very complicated and yielded a detailed piece of work.