The Challenge of Honoring Tradition

Trends in Native American Jewelry and Craft Sales

Southwestern jewelry and feathery dream catchers: These iconic Native American pieces have enduring appeal. But selling them is trickier than it used to be, with supply shortages driving up prices, especially in touristic locations.

Steve Nelson has sold Indian turquoise jewelry and crafts since 1976 at Gold Bear Trading Company in Racine, Wis. He has a loyal clientele for the classic Southwestern merchandise, but Nelson can’t charge as much as his brother does at Gold Bear’s sister stores in North Carolina and Naples, Fla., where shoppers are prepared to splurge. “His stores rock and roll — he does more sales in one day than I do in a month,” Nelson said. “It boils down to location, location, location.”

For the same reason, Owner Paul Bear’s price tags are modest at the Turquoise Bear Native American Trading Post in Elizabethtown, Pa. — another town that, like Racine, is neither affluent nor a destination for Native crafts. Bear has been annoyed to hear his customers report sightings of near-identical pieces selling for far more money in in resort towns. “If you’re a tourist, it’s more of an impulse buy,” Bear explained. “You’ve got this adrenaline going because you want to bring a souvenir home, so you expect to pay a lot more. And of course, you’ve got the celebrity, movie star factor.”

- Paul Bear, Turquoise

Native American Trading Post, Elizabethtown, Pa.

Bear has a $270 necklace that was spotted by regular clients in Aspen, Colo., for $15,000 — “same necklace, same artist, same everything,” he said ruefully. A $35 horsehair pottery piece of his was spotted selling for $750, also out West. Bear points to shortages from his Southwestern sources, which has driven up prices as demand continues unabated. “My supplier in New Mexico said that since the pandemic, 75 percent of silversmiths have gone out of business,” Bear noted. Established artisans weren’t making enough money to keep going, he elaborated, while the younger Native generation often isn’t interested in carrying on the tradition.

Still, Bear has a devoted clientele, many of whom come to the 1,400-square-foot store looking for particular pieces. Besides sterling silver jewelry, Turquoise Bear customers snap up dream catchers — the number one non-jewelry item — as well as leather bows and arrows and other decorative accents.

Even out in Phoenix, Ariz., where the clientele includes as many Natives as tourists, Retailer Bob Nuss has noticed supply shortages. Nuss, who has owned Drumbeat Indian Arts since 1972, said that during the pandemic, he sourced less jewelry and more medicinal herbs for healing and funeral ceremonies. “There haven’t been tourists around much for the last couple of years,” he noted.

Nuss’ 1,200-square-foot store has always catered to a slightly different market. Local Navajo and Hopi Indians typically inherit statement jewelry rather than buying it, Nuss observed, while silver jewelry isn’t even favored by other tribes, such as Apache. This Indian clientele is more likely to buy beadwork and other supplies to make powwow outfits or craft their own jewelry.

Turquoise earrings are Drumbeat’s best-selling bauble, often purchased to complement existing pieces. In the home décor category, Nuss’s biggest sales come from dream catchers and medicine wheels in a variety of sizes and colors.

At the Squash Blossom, a boutique in Nyack, N.Y., Owner Trudy Feiner caters more to individual tastes than to particular trends. “We sell a lot of Native American silver and turquoise,” Feiner reported. The store does a brisk business in both simple jewelry and large statement pieces, like big gemstone rings, as well as accent décor such as pottery and baskets. Feiner buys much of her native jewelry and crafts from Navajo and other artisans in New Mexico.

Of course, not all Native American handcrafts come from the Southwest. Maruskiya’s of Nome, Alaska has built a clientele over four decades selling whale bone and walrus ivory jewelry, musk ox headbands, and other pieces sourced from local materials and made by indigenous Alaskan artisans.

Brothers Robert and Andrew James manage the store, which is owned by their parents, Marty and Patti James. “There is a bit of a resurgence in people wanting real items that are handcrafted locally,” said Andrew James, adding that shoppers are prepared to pay more for such items. “People we work with hunt walrus for food, and we sell the art they make out of it.” Similarly, patrons are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for hats and other head wear woven from musk ox fur harvested on the tundra.

“I tell people, the money you spend here has a direct impact in this isolated local economy,” said James. “Shoppers want a story, something they can connect with. They’re looking for meaning.” The Native American heritage, he added, is “a compelling selling point.” ❖