The totem pole; intricate carving from the Northwest Coast
There are key trends and differences in Native American art throughout North America and there are varying influences Native art has assumed over time. Native American art is a unique yet diverse form and incorporates more than headdresses and moccasins. In fact, the true scope of Native American artwork may come as a surprise.
Identification
A Plains Indian bustle.
Native American culture is so diverse that as a result, the art of the indigenous people of North America also varies greatly, depending on tribe and location.
On a general level, art was the explanation of tribal origin, a physical embodiment of myths and magic as well as a means of identification.
In the eastern regions, traditional art was readily identifiable by decorated pottery and elaborately weaved baskets, by the use of the abundant birch tree, plaited sashes, and by ritual masks carved from wood.
The deserts of the southwest are rich with pre-Colombian cave drawings as well as traditions of pottery and clay imagery. Weaving was also commonplace and among the Hopi and Zuni peoples, the characterization of spirits were important cultural markers and highly intricate Kachina dolls made from cottonwood are excellent examples of Native American artistry.
In the densely forested West Coast, tribes were accomplished wood craftsmen and some cultures produced elaborate representations of social identity in totem poles. Most were highly skilled in fashioning utensils from thick branches as well as carving seaworthy vessels out of single pieces of trunk.
It is on the Great Plains, however, that the most readily identifiable artwork originates; that of the buffalo hunting nomads. These people were the ones who developed the eagle feather headdress, soft moccasins, painted teepees and highly-detailed beadwork. Ironically, theirs is also among some of the youngest pieces of Native American art, being as the larger culture itself is at times no older than the start of the 18th century when tribes on the fringes of the Plains began to move after the bison.
A Great Plains Example: The Sioux
The painted teepee; a classic Sioux and Northern Plains display of artwork.
For the Sioux, the turtle and the bison are distinct markers of their artistic heritage, being as they are representations of their existence. The 13 segments on the shell of the turtle and 28 small scales around its rim have been taken as representing the 13 months of the Sioux calendar and the 28 days between new moons.
The bison, by comparison, came to determine the very survival of the tribe after the Sioux adopted the nomadic buffalo hunting culture at the end of the 17th century. With this change, the tribe became utterly dependent on the herds for every aspect of their physical existence. As a result their art, an already highly spiritualized facet of life, became heavily influenced by the bison hunting culture, the importance of which is reflected by the place of the painted bison skull which assumes the highest of ceremonial significance.
European Influence
The adoption of certain European materials and ideas by Native Americans had a profound affect on tribal art. Most notably was the adoption of colored glass beads by tribes on the Plains that replaced dyed porcupine quills. Other changes were the use of brass tacks in weaponry and the tremendous social impact of the horse, leading to a whole host of new artistic symbolism. Curiously, some tribes have adopted The Stars and Stripes into their artwork as a reference to changes in traditional culture.
The Present Day
On the global scale, Native American art is an ever evolving phenomenon. In the 20th century, figures such as Stephen Mopope, Ernie Pepion and R.C Gorman brought Native American art from the tribal scale to a much broader level and their legacy is set to continue through promising artists such as Tony Abeyta, Roxanne Swentzell and Jaune Quick-To-See Smith.
Conclusions
With the advent of the modernization, however, Native Americans have become, to an extent, assimilated. While they still retain a fierce sense of individualism, there is also the realization that for culture to survive, a pan-Indian tribal unity is prudent. As a result, there now exists an exchange of cultural art, whether ceremonial or otherwise, as the movement of a homogeneous ethnic identity continues.
For the artistic community this can only be a positive move as it will encourage the survival and growth of a beautiful and unique approach to identity and art.
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