Plains Indian German silver from Oklahoma: the Smithsonian’s Davis collection

Abstract

German silver jewelry has a historic and ongoing role in the social and ritual life of Indian people on the Southern Plains. A remarkably well-documented collection of German silverwork assembled in central Oklahoma in 1966 reveals much about the economics and social context of the craft at that time. The collection, now at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, includes the work of seven smiths from five tribes, together with information on production and circulation. In addition to biographies of the craftsmen, the documentation positions the objects within social processes involving craftworkers, commercial outlets, the Peyote religion, Native consumers, and an elusive non-Native market.