Indian Necklace

Background Information

The Navajo started working with silver in the late 1800's. First they hammered Spanish and Mexican coins into silver buttons. The buttons were cut from the clothing and used as money. After the Treaty of 1868 the Navajo were given specialized tools for silver smiting. The silver was later made into jewelry with turquoise stones. Have students string turquoise and silver colored beads onto wire to have a necklace similar to the one above.