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Exploring Native American Art In History
Many tribal crafts were intended for
use in daily life as well as in ceremonies and rituals. Some items were made as
garments or to store food. The ceremonies and rituals served various functions,
including healing and maintaining success in hunting and farming, and they
expressed beliefs about the relationship of The People with the universe
and the world around them. These beliefs gave shape and meaning to their crafts. Masks worn in healing ceremonies, for example, helped specialists
in those rituals communicate with the spirit world. Carved wooden totem poles of
the Pacific Northwest recorded family histories, and they were presented and
displayed at elaborate ceremonies that helped the family preserve its history
and status within the community. To serve its purpose effectively, these works
were expected to be skillfully crafted and beautiful to its viewers.
A form for which Navajo healers have
become widely known is sand painting, an elaborate kind of dry painting
made for ritual purposes. At the ritual the healer sings about the
legendary Holy People (Navajo creator gods and cultural heroes). Some of
the songs or chants take years to memorize. The healer then makes images
from dry materials, such as sand, crushed stone, and plant pollen,
according to strict design formulas. The patient sits upon the painting
itself to be restored to a state of harmony and health. Finally, the
healer destroys the dry painting he has assembled with great effort, to
allow the materials to return to the earth. Today, some Navajo crafts
people weave rugs that resemble sand paintings or glue sand in place on boards to
create the same effect. These works are sold in shops and galleries
and are not considered to have the powerful effect of those created by
ritual healers.
The Navajo also work in silver, using
methods developed from those first taught to Navajos by a Mexican
blacksmith around 1850. Early works in silver include belt buckles and
horse gear such as bridles. Today, Navajo people wear intricate silver
jewelry including pieces set with turquoise and other stones. They also
sell this jewelry to outsiders. Zuni jewelers are known for complex mosaic
inlays of colored stones set in complex patterns in their silverwork.
Early Navajo smiths used Mexican and U.S. coins to create jewelry. Often, if
they were given a special order from a trader, local rancher, or businessman,
they would receive the metal in the form of candlesticks, tea pots, etc. to melt
for their work. The Navajo preferred to use melted Mexican silver coins because
they were easiest to work (.90275 fine). The next preferable source was whatever
sterling silver was available (.9025 fine). Least desirable, but most available
and durable, was silver from melted U.S. coins (.900 fine). In 1890, the U.S.
made it unlawful to melt or deface (by soldering on hooks, eyes, jump rings or
by “doming”) coins for beads. However, this was difficult to enforce, and
U.S. coinage continued to be used in the developing Navajo silver industry. Now
that there was a demand for materials and tools, the reservation traders began
to stock many of the needed items. Although the Navajo were able to make flux
from native materials, the commercial flux was superior. Likewise, commercial
cutting, grinding, and fine polishing tools were more desirable than homemade
ones. This was the beginning of a new economy involving the Indians, traders,
and eastern suppliers.
Navajo women are known for their woven
textiles made from sheep’s wool, especially blankets for wearing and
rugs. Some of these textiles are striped. Others, called chief’s
blankets, are patterned with a combination of stripes, crosses, and
diamond shapes. During some periods chemical imports replaced natural
dyes, with weavers using yarns manufactured by machine. The bright and
lively patterns that resulted are called eye dazzlers. At other
times weavers have responded to demands of purchasers and made textiles
with natural materials in softer colors that buyers considered more
authentic.
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