Shannon
Fast Horse, Lakota | ||||||
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| Shannon Fast Horse, Lakota Beaded Turtle
Prison Pendant | |||||
Braided nylon necklace with peyote stitch seed bead tubes.
Soft buckskin backing. | ||||||
NATIVE AMERICAN TURTLE SYMBOLISMNurturer, Protector, Mother Energy, Mother Earth. Turtle's medicine includes connection with Great Spirit, journeys of discovery, patience, feminine strength, power to heal female diseases, inspiration, protecting oneself snd others, self-reliance, and tenacity, longevity. |
The Story of Beaded Prison PendantsSome Lakota inmates in South Dakota jails have the talent and skill - and time - to produce really fine beadwork with buckskin backing. Some of the best beaders are older men serving life sentences. Beading supplies are provided by an inmate's family and when a number of beaded items are finished the family contacts Lakota artist and pipemaker Alan Monroe (read about Alan below). Alan pays the family for the items he wants and the family uses the money to purchase gift boxes through the prison for the beader. Gift boxes contain food and other commissary items and that is how the beaders get compensated for their work. When Alan receives the beaded items he adds a pendant hanger and one of his hand crafted bead necklaces. |
Peyote StitchingThe peyote stitch, also known as the gourd stitch, is an off-loom bead weaving technique. Peyote stitch may be worked with either an even or an odd number of beads per row. Both even and odd count peyote pieces can be woven as flat strips, in a flat round shape, or as a tube. |
About BeadsBeads used by Native American artists are usually round but can be flattened (rondelle) or cylindrical. They are usually made of glass and come in a variety of colors. Most are one solid color except for European Trade Beads, which are mulit-colored and sometimes decorated. Beads are measured by the "aught" system with 1/0, pronounced "one aught", being the largest. The larger the number the smaller the bead.
Seed beads are the smallest round beads, 24/0 to 4/0. 24/0 is approx. 1/32 inch
(about the size of a grain of sand). Seed beads are used mainly for beaded items
and embroidery. Most contemporary high-quality seed beads are made in the Czech Republic, Japan or India.
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