Rings are usually designed for display on the hand, encircling the finger. This hand is a dynamic extremity. The hand speaks articulately, like the mouth and the eyes. Continually displaying movements and gestures, the hand speaks its own language as it communicates with the world. These strengths make the hand attractive and challenging to decorate. Endless are the ways in which jewelry-maker, ring-wearer, and onlooker converse.

Love and marriage. Authority or station, accomplishment, familial ties, moods, or the beauty of a jeweler’s artistry alone can be the motive for adorning one’s hand with a ring. Rings may evoke memories, transmit messages, signify rites of passage, express political, social, or religious affiliations, advertise status, or express personal style.

Silver is the most popularly used metal for Native American jewelry makers. Silver adornments are, historically speaking, a relatively recent phenomenon in North America. As early as 1800, the Eastern Woodlands peoples began making jewelry. These groups included the prominent Iroquois, Delaware, and Seminole. In the Pacific Northwest and the American Southwest, Native American silver smithing did not emerge into significance until the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Early silver was hammered into thin sheets. Commercial sheet silver for jewelry making was available in the 1910s, and became much more prevalent after World War II.

Most Native American artists choose sterling silver for their pieces, whether they create jewelry in a traditional fashion, or in a fine art mode. Native American jewelry holds a special long-lasting place in the realm of jewelry artistry. It is worthwhile to seek out the places where beauty can be found.