There is a tendency in some corners of the Native art market — those corners “curated” by non-Natives — to insist that only certain genres of art or styles of expression or specific media or techniques qualify as “authentic” for any given group of indigenous people. It’s yet another way to confine Native identity from without, to fence it in on a reservation of artistic expression, one that, much like the dictates of tribal rolls and blood quantum and assimilation strategies, permits non-Natives to define what it means to be Native . . . and then to appropriate it shamelessly and completely.
It’s nonsense. Worse, it’s racist nonsense.
Native artists are fully-actualized human beings who are fully authentic simply by virtue of being themselves. It would be far more surprising if they did not share ideas across cultural divides, if they did not reach and stretch and try out new techniques and ways of expressing their vision. After all, it’s something our peoples have always done.
In this part of Indian Country, trade has thrived for millennia — trade in art, in culture, in techniques, in ideas. We explored this a bit in yesterday’s post: how indigenous peoples across the continent shared beauty and spirit across thousands of miles at a time when all travel occurred on solely foot. It’s how artists in a thoroughly landlocked desert state came to use shells from other lands as part of their traditional ornamentation. It’s also how micaceous pottery found its way to other lands while beautifully woven baskets made their way to this one and subsequently formed an integral part of local family traditions.
Wings’s own style is truly sui generis: I know of no other Native jewelry artist who has developed a style that even remotely resembles his own. He combines tradition with a vision that seeks individuality for the wearer of each piece, melding past and present into a uniquely harmonious whole. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t call on the shared wisdom of our collective nations. Native people are eminently practical, and our ancestors well knew the value of sharing knowledge.
So it is with today’s feature item, his latest. This pair of earrings, his first of this particular design, is crafted in a traditional Comanche style that is known locally and colloquially simply as “danglies.” It’s a style that has been worn by the peoples of this area for generations and beyond.
It’s not, however, solely a Southern Plains design. He has incorporated a thoroughly Pueblo motif into its execution, creating a complex whole that honors multiple traditions and variable paths. From the description in the Earrings Gallery:
Stardust Earrings
Tiny silver shells form little bits of stardust falling from the sky. These earrings are a perfect example of the synthesis of indigenous cultures made possible by the ancient trade route that built up along the Pueblo: Traditional Pueblo conchas are joined together to find expression in an old Comanche style worn by generations of Native women throughout the Southern Plains and the Southwest. Each concha is hand-fabricated, lightly domed in repoussé fashion, each linked to the next with a sterling silver jump ring. The larger conchas anchoring the top are each stamped with a single five-pointed Plains star. Earrings hand four inches in length; the concha at top is 5/8 of an inch across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver
$255 + shipping, handling, and insurance
I admit to feelings of covetousness when I look at this pair. I love long, bold, dangly earrings and wear them regularly. I also have an old pair of Comanche-style earrings of my own, a pair by a now-unknown Native artist: Mine, however, are composed of only two large conchas, graduated in size, with a pendant in the design of the Four Sacred Directions at the end; they hang only about 2/3 the length of these. Someday, he’ll make me an extended-length pair like this one, but Spirit intends these for someone else.
Whomever ultimately wears these will wear the spirits of the stars and the shells, given form and voice by way of the ancient traditions of our many peoples.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
