American Indians - you should really find out more about these great people and improve your life

Floyd Red Crow Westerman -

A great man who is no longer with us

Most people have a stereotypical view of what an American Indian is, thanks largely to Hollywood movies. But the truth is far removed from that and its something you should look into this subject for yourself.

How were the Indians part of the UFO and extra terrestrial contact phenomena for millennia? Read on.

What would you like as an ideal society - no taxes, no prisons, no crime, no drugs, no alcohol, no addiction, no consumer society, no laws, where the old and young are safe and cared for, where the community is a community?

You might call that an unobtainable utopia. In your so-called civilised world you might think this is a pipe dream, but you would be wrong

People enjoyed this lifestyle 500 years ago, those people were the American Indians.
To them it was normal. To our privileged world it is unobtainable, unless we change.

This script is what you might call being a good citizen -

for Sitting Bull's Lakota people this was just normal

I was already aware of the American Indian people, I had a late friend who was half Commanche, he was one of my greatest friends for 12 years before he died of old age.

Two years ago I was working on a book project and in the course of my research and came across some Lakota Indian wisdom and quotes. I started to read the information and found it fascinating. It all seemed to make perfect sense and I learned a great deal from that. As I delved into their culture more which I advise you to do, you will find a lot of things that make sense.

Pine Ridge Reservation - look at it for yourself and be shocked

The myth that Indians on Reservations all own casinos and are rich is not so. The majority of American Indian people are living in dire conditions of poverty and America should be ashamed this situation is allowed to pervade in their own back yard.

I have been working with the Lakota Sioux people on the Pine Ridge reservation to help them with business development and economic growth advice.

At the Oceti Wakan site
http://www.ocetiwakan.org/

At Pine Ridge is a project called Oceti Wakan, which is Lakota language for 'Sacred Fireplace' this is a project to create awareness of the Lakota way of life and language and I have donated to this charity recently. I have recently been working with the Oceti Wakan founders to advise on fundraising and with a business plan free of charge. 

The Lakota people are just one of the tribes who are finding survival difficult. They have such great knowledge and they are the way forward for humanity. We are running out of planet, we need to revise what we want from life and where we are going.

The Eagle that landed at Standing Rock on the Pine Ridge Reservation

We would do well to come together with the American Indian people and go forward together in a way that will ensure we are all going to live the best way.

Recently, people stood at Standing Rock to protect the water -

perhaps the Hopi prophecy has started to be fulfilled

Many of the Chiefs had the gift of future sight -

this prophecy could apply now

Many of the tribes have the same message -

we must change or be changed externally - make the choice

Russell Means was along with Sitting Bull

one of the great Lakota people

When it comes to the Lakota people, one of the recent late but greats has to be Russell Means, along with his wife Pearl Means. Some might call Russell Means an activist, he was one who held out at the 1973 Wounded Knee siege, but he was more of a speaker up for his people and hoping to improve their conditions.

Russell Means learned much from his relatives about the old ways and their history and culture and organisations like Oceti Wakan are hoping to educate the young Lakota people to prevent this history becoming lost.

A Navajo / Zuni inlaid Thunderbird Ring

with Katsina 'ET' figure on the band

Hopi Indian Petroglyph of a crashed UFO -

suspiciously like the Roswell UFO

Hopi Katsina doll -these are based on the 'Star People' that visited the tribes

The American Indian tribes have a long heritage of contact with visitors from off our planet, what they call 'Star People.' These visitors are unique to each tribal group. Many

of the Indian people also have enhanced psychic abilities.

The Hopi had contact with what we might call the small grey beings, the Hopi called them 'Ant Friends' and although they spoke no Sumerian, Ant Friends in Hopi is 'Anu naki.'

Of course, the Anunnaki were the prime movers in human establishment in Sumeria thousands of years ago. So how could the Hopi know of the Sumerian language? For them to come up with this sort of coincidence over such a large amount of words is beyond mere coincidence.

A Sumerian tablet thousands of years old found in Chief Joseph's medicine bag

So how did this get there, to North America??

Not only that, many Hopi language words and phrases are near to the ancient Sumerian. Perhaps another strange coincidence, is that the Lakota people believe their origins lie in the Pleiades in the constellation of Taurus, no mere coincidence that the Lakota regard themselves as the 'Buffalo nation' or 'Tatanka Oyate' in Lakota.

Their spirit guide is White Buffalo Calf Woman, a female form that shape shifted from a white Buffalo and appeared to ancient Lakota people and gave them their belief system.

You may not also be aware that the silver and turquoise jewellery created by the Navajo and Zuni people mainly is really quite amazing. Here are some examples:

American Indian jewellery is excuisite

Calvin Begay Micro Inlay Pueblo pendant

A Ray Jack silver and gemstone ring -

similar to the Piet Mondrian geometrical style

So, hopefully you will now have learned more than you originally knew.

As the Lakota phrase has it 'Mitakuye Oyasin' -  which means we are all related.

American Indian style jewellery copies - buyer beware!

Genuine Navajo made Turquoise rings

Something I predicted a while back has sadly come to pass.

I was doing some work advising the Lakota people, part of the Sioux nation, on the importance of protecting their craft work with a recognised trademarking system.

The reason was two fold, so that purchasers could be sure of buying an item genuinely made by someone from one of the tribes and to protect their work, to hopefully prevent mass produced Far Eastern copies being sold as 'genuine' when they were not.

Calvin Begay 'Starry Night' ring

I recently came across some examples of American Indian jewellery which were in the style of Navajo artist Calvin Begay, famous for his Starry Night pieces, amongst other works.

Smaller, 'Starry Night ' ring

His Starry Night pieces pictured here, are exquisitely made micro inlay pieces which are highly valued and prized amongst collectors and followers of his work.

Below are three Far Eastern made examples 'in the style of' which came from the Philippines. They are a third of the price and not as exquisitely crafted.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with this, there is a risk that these maybe passed off as 'genuine' American Indian, somewhere down the line. So is it easy to spot the copies?

Examples of micro inlay Far Eastern made jewellery

in the 'American Indian' style of 'Starry night' pieces

Whilst these examples are in the main nicely made, they are not made by American Indian people with heritage going back hundreds of years.

How can you spot modern copies? Not always that easily.

Horse ring in the Zuni style, made in the Philippines

Nicely made with a 'handmade' feel.

Quite a lot of the genuine ring base units used, are often made from casts, that said, on some individual parts, you will see variances in geometry, say on a Thunderbird, the feathers may not all be exactly perfectly patterned, so you can see a 'handmade' situation. As you will observe on this great ring below.

Genuine Zuni/Navajo Katsina Extra Terrestrial detail on a Thunderbird ring

However, being 'too perfect' may be the giveaway on many reproductions.

Someone like Calvin Begay makes their own ring settings, to suit the inlay work or materials they have decided to use.

The danger to artists like Calvin, is outright copying of existing pieces.

That is where someone takes a genuine piece, disassembles it and outrightly reproduces it as a nuts and bolts copy.

Early style of a genuine Thunderbird ring

Richard Hoskie & Ella Cowboy genuine

Thunderbird ring from my own collection

What we have to guard against is that items being listed with terms that suggest they are made by American Indian artists. It will have to be that the items are referred to as 'Zuni style and design' rather than 'Zuni' which tends to suggest authenticity.

Genuine Zuni made cuff bracelet

As pieces of artwork the reproductions if we can call them that are in the main, nicely made and attractive.

I do personally prefer to buy something that is genuinely made by an American Indian with heritage going back centuries if possible. This also helps to support their art and career in this work.

The downside of reproductions is that they will be seen as a 'price level' object. And this compounds the problem of authenticity, whilst some Indian makers stamp their own trademarks on the rings, many are plain and rely on resalers to say who made the item.

This all goes to prove, if something is good, someone will; copy it!