The Complete Guide to Traditional Native American Beadwork: A Definitive Study of Authentic Tools, Materials, Techniques, and Styles (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A bead. A sphere of molten, colored silicate or glass, often faceted to mirror the light and glisten..." (more)
Key Phrases: running backstitch, solid beadwork, lazy stitch, Great Lakes, Native American, Colleen Flores (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In recent years there has been increasing interest in Native American culture and its history, traditions, and artistic expressions. In their beadwork, Native Americans combine the symbols of objects around them into stylized patterns. This book is designed as an easy-to-follow manual of the how and the why of this craft, including its history and technical development. Chapters discuss the tools and materials generally used, as well as techniques and patterns of various tribes, and provide tips on preparation of the hides and sources for materials. Though the book does presuppose a certain familiarity with tools and access to materials, it is aimed at the novice audience. The personal experience of the creation of a beautiful object is emphasized as a vital part of the Native American craft tradition. Collections serving a community with strong craft interests should find this a useful addition.
- Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

"I can think of no recent book about traditional crafts which has delighted me more than Joel Monture's Complete Guide to Traditional Native American Beadwork. All too often, books of this nature are either as boring as a repair manual, or obscure and inaccurate. Monture's triumph is that his book is not only the best and most complete book about virtually every aspect of Native American beadwork tools, materials, styles and methods, it is also clear, interesting reading. "Written from the point of view of a Native master craftsman who is also a gifted teacher, and accompanied by striking full-color photos, it can serve as either a beginning point or a lifelong reference tool. I am confident that Monture's book will bring him wide praise, not only from beadworkers, but also from any person who delights in knowing more about the meaning and the history of an indigenous artform which is finally attracting the sort of critical attention and informed appreciation it deserves." —Joseph Bruchac, author of Keepers of the Earth Includes all the basic stitches and designs Contains a special section on natural tanning methods Extensive glossary Full-color photos of authentic Native American beadwork

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 7, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0020664303
• ISBN-13: 978-0020664307
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #346,277 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy the other book that is really COMPLETE!, September 25, 2000

By A Customer

Good things first: the brain-tanning section is nice. The color pictures are also nice (but there are worlds between those photographs and the rest of the book). And the author's style of writing is nice, too. But here, alas, the niceties end!

There's another book available here at Amazon.com: "Native American Beadwork: Traditional Beading Techniques for the Modern-Day Beadworker" by Georg J. Barth. While that one does not claim to be complete (which no book can be) it actually comes pretty near to that goal. For example the Crow stitch, which has been a common technique among the Plains and Plateau beaders, is covered by Barth in a whole chapter while Monture just "devotes" one single paragraph -- and the worst thing is: Mr Monture has not understood this beading technique at all and presents a completely wrong instruction.

The overlay stitch -- a beading technique that was used on almost all of North America and that employed two needles -- is also completely misunderstood. Mr Monture presents a technique that almost never was used by the Native women who did (and do) most of Native style beadwork but unfortunately is very popular among non-Native beaders. The "running stitch" that Monture recommends results invariably in a humpy surface and does Native bead artistry no justice.

"Native American Beadwork" by Barth covers the various weaving techniques on more than thirty pages with as much diagrams, while Monture does away with a single page. The same applies to the various techniques of Peyote or Gourd stitch. While Monture is satisfied with one technique that is mostly used by Non-Native beadworkers and that is dealt with on two meagre pages, Barth's book is the first one that offers a comphrehensive description of the Peyote Stitch on more than thirty pages, including as many diagrams and illustrations.

As to Monture's computer generated diagrams: these are some of the poorest illustrations that I have found in a book on this subject or any other.

That the author is a Native American is no guarantee that he automatically knows everything about Native American beadwork. Even his position as a professor at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe should not make you think that this makes him automatically an expert on beadwork.

This definitely is NOT a complete guide, and it definitely is NOT the book you can learn from how to bead Native American style!

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Native Beadwork from a Native perspective, February 4, 2003

By	J. Kelley "dahozho" (Mid-Atlantic coast) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

How interesting that the beadwork book chosen as more "authentic" by some here was written by a European from Germany! Mr. Monture is Six Nations (Mohawk, I believe) from New York State, & has taught Native Arts at the American Indian Arts Institute (a college *for* Native artists) for some years.

Again, its more about where you're from. Some could say it is 'romantized', as it doesn't go into how much work it actually is to produce hides, that its smelly, you need a lot of guidance & practice, etc.

Different tribes use different techniques, & this book is definitely written from a more northeastern tradition, perhaps difficult to appreciate as it is less known outside these communities. (Plains beadwork is usually what the mainstream usually recognizes as 'authentic'.)

That said, one probably needs a little background to get the most from this book. I do wish there was more discussion on color use and Great Lakes pattern development, but these are also skills which are best honed by doing. I enjoyed this book, which does pack a lot of information into relatively little space. The construction techniques are excellent!

16 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There are better Traditional examples elsewhere., October 27, 2000

By A Customer

Monture taught me his rendition of brain-tanning and 'traditional' beadwork. I have learned authentic Traditional beading not only from Barth's book, "Native American Beadwork: Traditional Beading Techniques for the Modern-Day Beadworker", but from working with traditional Native beadworkers and hide tanners. Monture's book is truely a romanticized version of yesteryear surely to captivate the heart of a non-traditional "indigenous wannabe". An educated guess; One cannot write about things that one does not know. Nice try anyway.