Commemorate Native American Heritage Month

Concho belts are my favorite Native American Jewelry Art

 

A full-blooded Native-American co-worker sold me a cute bead necklace of turquoise chips and matching woven earrings designed with glass seed beads.  Her sister crafted the jewelry.

 

In another instance, I purchased a turquoise chip necklace at a train stop on a Reservation while traveling  to a vacation in California.

 

Buying this jewelry was an honor.

The necklaces and earrings are not ornate like the expensive artisan Native American jewelry sold at jewelry boutiques for hundreds, even $1000s of dollars.

But take it from an African-American, any and all artistic efforts to maintain a peoples’ culture are valiant, no matter how small.

Yes, November is National Native American Heritage Month.  A month is not enough.

 There are many, many websites that sell authentic tribal jewelry crafted by Native American artists. Online stores  are worth a look to get the depth and breath of this cultural craft.

 But I usually shop for Native American jewelry at art fairs. It's one way that I commemorate Native American tribes.   I pause for a moment to ponder their art and culture of tribal jewelry making.

LOOK AMAZING WEARING CONCHOS

You can look amazing and fabulous by wearing blue jeans with a Navajo silver Concho belt.

CONCHO JEWELRY STYLE

A link Concho belt can also look good as a necklace. I team one with oversized Mexican Taxco silver pendants that are too large for ordinary chains.  Long, dramatic statement necklaces are fashionable now.  So there’s no reason not to turn a link Concho belt into statement jewelry.



NAVAJO CONCHO BELT AND BUCKLE



SHOPPING FOR CONCHOS

Authentic silver and turquoise Navajo and other tribal Concho belts are now priced in the stratosphere, ranging from about $400 to over $2,000 for vintage ones. And, silver belts handcrafted and signed by Native American artists are even more expensive.

Some of the antique belts are so expensive that only luxury buyers can consider purchasing them. Other antique belts are cultural artifacts because of their tribal design elements or pictographs and should only be purchased by museum curators, in my opinion.

For the rest of us, it’s lucky that Native American silver crafters and inlay artists are still producing Concho belts. Designs are also available made with silver-tone base metals instead of silver.

You can also buy silver Conchos individually for a DIY Western belt.

CULTURAL LEGACY

Concho belts are perennial American fashion favorites and make a good fashion investment.

Native American jewelry arts will remain an enduring legacy of the success of 1^st Peoples’ cultures for many millennia.

 

Pat Thomas for Jewelrystash until next time…