Cheyenne Beadwork

[GrayKeith]

Greetings,
I am having difficulty finding good pictures of cheyenne beadwork. If anyone knows of any links, or if you have pictures of your own, posting them here would be much appreciated.

[Suzizila]

sorry!

Greetings,
I am having difficulty finding good pictures of cheyenne beadwork. If anyone knows of any links, or if you have pictures of your own, posting them here would be much appreciated.

Hi Gray Kieth,

I just wanted to let know that I tried to help, I made one stray finger move & poof...all of the links I had to share went to the great nothingness where all deleted things go.

All I can tell you, is to do searches on Nothern and Southern Cheyenne beadwork & you will end up with a lot of sites. Also, read "Dance Around the Sun" about Cheyenne beadworker, Mary Little Bear Inkanish.

[GrayKeith]

Thank you!

[Josiah]

Beadwork designs can be tricky especially copying from the internet
If you are merely wanting examples of Beadwork any Google Search will get you thousands of hits

If you are looking to emulate specifically a Tribe's work from the 1800's go to a musuem

Understand this: native artist's out there come up with their own designs some of which are family designs and should not be copyied nor used to make your own beadwork.

Some Designs that make up beadwork are just universal and wont give you grief but others could cause you problems especially if that Family walks up to you and ask you where you got that/ who made it for you its not out of the realm of possiblity they ask you to take it off. Although this is a extreme example it is still possible...

[Josiah]

Beadwork designs can be tricky especially copying from the internet
If you are merely wanting examples of Beadwork any Google Search will get you thousands of hits

If you are looking to emulate specifically a Tribe's work from the 1800's go to a musuem

Understand this: native artist's out there come up with their own designs some of which are family designs and should not be copyied nor used to make your own beadwork.

Some Designs that make up beadwork are just universal and wont give you grief but others could cause you problems especially if that Family walks up to you and ask you where you got that/ who made it for you its not out of the realm of possiblity they ask you to take it off. Although this is a extreme example it is still possible...

Oh and BTW just because you are far from Ndn Country you feel that will never happen. LOL
Ndn's are hired all the time from Oklahoma and up North to come to the East coast to be on Staff of Powwows or to just visit friends that now live there.
We get around...

[GrayKeith]

Thanks, also I have found a few examples online. However, are there any colors I shouldnt use? They have the blue beads that I have, but I am not seeing any orange beads. It could be the brightness on my computer, but I just want to make sure.

[wardancer]

we don't use a lot of black.....small accents but nothing major. The majority of our beadwork will have a white background.
Orange is fine.

[yaahl]

Gray, I know you are 16 and a Scout, but I'm curious as to why you have decided to appropriate Cheyenne designs?

If it a matter of you just wanting to create some beadwork, why not design your own? Why take on the designs of a people that you have no connection or relationship with?

If you make the beadwork and you are not Cheyenne, then all you have accomplished is to copy a design that you don't have permission to use but more importantly, you have just accomplished making a white kid's beadwork that looks Cheyenne in nature. Just because it looks Cheyenne, does not mean it is any more Cheyenne than if I made it... all it would be is a Haida made Cheyenne design.

If you really must dress up like an NDN, why not use designs of your own people in your beadwork? There are lots of motifs in each culture that can be incorporated in any beadwork. It would certainly be a bit more honest of you to say... use a Celtic design if you are from an Irish or Scottish background or Germanic, Greek, Spanish for that matter.

[GrayKeith]

Gray, I know you are 16 and a Scout, but I'm curious as to why you have decided to appropriate Cheyenne designs?

If it a matter of you just wanting to create some beadwork, why not design your own? Why take on the designs of a people that you have no connection or relationship with?

If you make the beadwork and you are not Cheyenne, then all you have accomplished is to copy a design that you don't have permission to use but more importantly, you have just accomplished making a white kid's beadwork that looks Cheyenne in nature. Just because it looks Cheyenne, does not mean it is any more Cheyenne than if I made it... all it would be is a Haida made Cheyenne design.

If you really must dress up like an NDN, why not use designs of your own people in your beadwork? There are lots of motifs in each culture that can be incorporated in any beadwork. It would certainly be a bit more honest of you to say... use a Celtic design if you are from an Irish or Scottish background or Germanic, Greek, Spanish for that matter.

We are encouraged to follow a tribe, and keep it tradtional. If you find it offensive or disrespectful, I won't do it. I honestly wanted to put a stingray, or sea turtle into my work as I feel like that best represents me and its also feel like it would not offend anyone, and it would also let me represent myself. Do you think it would be a good idea? For beading sidetabs or something putting a stingray in and then putting some type of border around it? I appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks,
Gray

[yaahl]

If you look on the web, there are many free beading design tools that will allow you to transpose a picture into a bead pattern. I bet if you played around with your stringray and turtle, you'd come up something special and unique to you.

Beadtool4 is a good pattern maker. It'll will help you with colours and bead amounts required.

[GrayKeith]

Thank you for the idea! I will play around with it.

[Toolbox]

One thing to consider before emulating a design or pattern is that some families have copyrights on them.

Maybe I missed this in your other thread but out of curiosity what dance style are you?

[GrayKeith]

Im interested in Northern traditional. I've been looking around the forum at it and learning a few things. However, I am just trying to get my beadwork done. Also, I have seen some photos where there is no beading on the side tabs, or apron. It is simply fabric sewn to fabric. Thoughts?

[Toolbox]

...Also, I have seen some photos where there is no beading on the side tabs, or apron. It is simply fabric sewn to fabric. Thoughts?

I think you are referring to Applique.

[GrayKeith]

Yes! I wasn't sure if that was its actual name or if that was just what we call it. Would that be a suitable alternative for beadwork?