by Lorraine Carter

Created on: September 22, 2008   Last Updated: November 05, 2008

Have you ever watched a western where the hero is taken to the Indian camp. Did you notice the jewelry that adorned the medicine man or the chief? Did you ever watch an Indiana Jones movie, where he is being chase by the natives, and then he is captured? Did you notice the Jewelry the natives were wearing?

Jewelry fashions are trending toward more natural, historic pieces including authentic American Indian jewelry, Navajo jewelry, Nuni Jewelry and African Jewelry. Tribal jewelry and ethnic jewelry are being worn by today's fashion conscience crowd. Each piece from all of these tribes, at one time or another had a meaning to it. Today they are created for other to wear and to help support these tribes who are trying to make it in what is now a very commercialized world.

There are 26 ethnic tribes in Africa with Zulu being the largest and Bushman/San being the oldest, listed as in existence in Africa for 20,000 years. The ethnic tribal jewelry is made from brass, glass and colorful wood beads, shells , bones and seeds. Each piece of African jewelry is unique to the tribe that makes it. Some pieces were even designed from elephant hair, called the elephant hair bracelets and were worn for good luck, they are now fashioned out of plant fiber. Colorful findings in a selection of bracelets, earrings, and necklaces in ethnic tribal jewelry go well with almost any kind of apparel.

The American Indian jewelry is among the leading designs being sold today. The Zuni jewelry is made by the Zuni Tribe located outside of, where else, Zuni Mexico, mostly made up carved precious and semi precious stones strung together with string or sinew, they come in strands of 1 to 12 strands. American Indian jewelry usually had some meaning to it, some of in the shape of animals that were thought to have spirits of the Indian world.

The Navajo jewelry is famous for the silver and turquoise, often framed by smaller stones of abalone, amber, amethyst , ammonite, azurite, charolite, coral, or fossilized bone. Pieces range from necklaces , bracelets and earrings. You kind find them in small dainty designs all the way up to very large pieces.

The jewelry from all of these tribes goes with almost any apparel. The earth tone colors found and some and the brilliance of others will offset any style that you are wearing that day. There is something that will fit everything, and this kind of jewelry, for the most part can be worn by a male or female. This jewelry usually a variety of prices that would fit anyone's pocketbook.

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