My bet is that very few Native American silversmiths live in Tibet. An actual “Native American” artist will be able to provide you with the name of the tribe they are a registered member of, and perhaps w/ a census number.
Look online [URL removed] The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 (and related laws before and since), which promises severe penalties for misrepresenting arts and crafts as Native American Made when they aren’t.
However, actual registered tribal members certainly may use a wide variety of materials to bring their crafts to life. Just because the silver itself (or any other material for that matter) isn’t “Native American made”) doesn’t mean that the resulting art or craft doesn’t meet criteria for being Native American made. You could look for marks, or perhaps for representations by the seller identifying the real person who made the item. Another thing to be very careful of, whether you intend to buy “Native American made” or not is that there are many types of turquoise, from the real thing to turquoise dust “pressed and formed” into beads. Be especially careful if you plan to buy turquoise!
And edited to add that I also have several items that I purchased or traded for directly from their creators, who didn’t need to prove their authenticity to me. My concern is w/ folks who are selling counterfeit w/o clearly saying that’s what they are.
And I realize that we have now strayed far from Wally’s actual question.

OTJM – You can sell it without a COA. That is not a problem.

Many native artisans (even top quality) do not sign their work.

All you need to know is their name and/or tribe that they are enrolled with. This allows a buyer to check out the authenticity of the piece if they want to.

This information allows a buyer to contact the tribal headquarters for verification.

Many NA artists have a particular style that is specific to them and or the use of certain materials and etc that sets their crafts apart from all others. Some use a single marking that means nothing to us but it is the crafters mark and may not even be obvious to the hobby collectors. These things are not known to the average person but the tribal headquarters would know.

All the COA does is makes proving NA easier.

But of course, you must remember that some COA’s are not real also.

Artisans often use materials that are available to them. The items I offer are from the Sioux Nation. Being the poorest of tribes and their reservations being more poor than many 3rd world countries, the materials used are varying and sometimes were donated to the tribe. So the idea that certain materials are used by certain tribes or artisans may not necessarily hold true.

A buyer’s best bet is to ask the seller for the info on the piece. They should then take the necessary steps to verify the piece before buying it. If a seller can not give you some information to verify the piece, I would advise against buying it.

Here are some good links to check [URL removed]

[URL removed]

[URL removed]

This link will take you to the various tribal [URL removed]
[URL removed]
(Click on the PDF link to the tribal leaders.)

The pieces I offer for sale are genuine and I know several things about the artisans. These pieces have no obvious markings on them but they can be verified by going straight to the tribe. I offer the name of the artisan, which tribe and in some cases, I can give you a brief history of the piece or the artisan. These are the kinds of things that can be verified on a piece with no COA.
Here are a couple of [URL removed]
[URL removed]

[URL removed]

As far as trademarks, that is used for the tribal insignias (such was used in the lawsuits against the some sports teams). Each NA piece is not required to have them.

[URL removed]

As far as [URL removed] Copyright is secured automatically upon creation of the product. No publication, registration or other action is required in the Copyright Office.

[URL removed]

Here’s a fairly good link to NA [URL removed]

[URL removed]

As far as alpaca, german, nickel or coin [URL removed] Most fine jewelers would call it pot metal, base metal (at best) or other lesser terms. They contain no silver at all and should actually be advertised as what they are – NOT what they are not (silver).

Sterling silver is of course, fine silver. :)

@ Boobkbin – You do NOT have to be NA to sell NA items. You have to be an enrolled tribal member (or recognized artisan) for your items to be described as NA. Anyone can sell the items but they need to have information and or some kind of proof that the items are truly NA. If they are NA like or whatever and not created by an enrolled member, they can not be listed as NA

I know for a fact that to list an item for sale as Native American ( in alot of venues) you must be a true Native American and be part of a tribe. Alot of jewelry made is NOT made by Native Americans. I find that some of the silver jewelery is made by silversmiths (and there are tons of them) some excellent and some so so. You really need to know who you are buying from and know thier work. I have seem some lovely silver jewelry made from locals here in New York. I have a friend who is a Native American and she sells beaded Native American Indian items, such as fetishes,dolls,cradle boards and other leather and bead items. They are made with real leather and glass beads…beautiful work and extremely time consuming. Signed or unsigned jewelry I don’t think it matters, unless the artist is well know for his/her pieces. I find that if you like it and its real silver than its a work of art to you. :<) Thats how I see it..

To be able to list something as Native American made, the person that made it has to be Native American (duh) AND they have to be a REGISTERED artisan for their tribe.

There is actually a Federal agency that over sees these things.

One of their agents, actually I think she’s one of the managers in that Federal agency, is a member of Bonanzle

Alpaca silver is actually not “silver” as we know it. It is a mixture of metals like nickle and others that resist tarnishing and is a very nice but cheap alternative to real silver.

The “pressed” Turquoise that loneelk is referring to, commonly referred to as “chalk Turquoise” is basically Turquoise that has been made into powder during cutting or grinding of real Turquoise. The “dust or powder” is real Turquoise, but then it’s mixed with a “glue” to bind it together to make a Turquoise byproduct, in the form of beads and other items.

It’s not “solid” Turquoise but it does contain real Turquoise, and is a good alternative for working with if you can’t afford a pure Turquoise bead or pieces.

Kind of like particle board is made out of wood, but it’s got some other ingredients in with it.

I see this has turned into quite a touchy topic.

Here is the information to get in touch with the FEDERAL agency associated and charged with handling these things.

I do know this lady has a membership right here at Bonanzle. I’ve spoken with her a few times about this situation on Native artwork and such. In fact if I remember correctly the only reason she joined this site was to overlook the Native listings here, but it was a while back so I could be mistaken.
Her member name is iacb0lrv

and since I’ve spoken to her a few times I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t mind anyone else asking her questions since she is readily available on the internet through her agency

[URL removed] 1-888-ART-FAKE (toll free)
[URL removed] www.doi.gov/iacb/file.html
[URL removed] [email protected]
[URL removed] (202) [phone number removed][URL removed] Meridith Stanton, Director
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
Mail Stop 2528-MIB
U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington, DC 20240

And yet…having lived surrounded by Native American tribes I will add that all this “having to be a registered artist” rules is not Native American. Most artists or I should say “starving artists” sell their beautiful works of jewelry and other art on the street and you do not get a “certificate of authenticity”, nor are the pieces signed. If you ask they might scribble their name on a piece of paper for you. I have lots of true Native American made pieces and no proof of such and I’ve had it all for years. Add to that that I am not Native American so I would never be able to sell it and say the piece is N.A. made without proof.

The higher quality ‘native American’ Jewelry often is signed or marked.

Yes, Native American Jewelry to be called such must be made by a tribe member, and it is not cheap, for the material and craftmanship is of the highest standards

As with any piece of art, it’s worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Price it high, wait, watch, and then begin lowering the price after a month.

Many of the Tribes of NC are not registered due to the fact that many choose not to register for fear of being dragged out west. There are infact 7 tribes that are noticed as non registered Native Americans after 1904 census were taken. They hid out mostly in the mountains of KY, VA and NC. They are however just as native american as any of the Dawson Roll or Miller Roll native indians from OK chapter. Many of these were Cherokee, Blackfoot and blended tribes friendly to the Cherokee.

My great grandmother was full Cherokee, and registered in her county after the GOV quit hunting them down, however the court house went up in flames in 1912 and all records of the many native indians registered there, are not on record now. My grand mother is full native Cherokee, married to a Blackfoot son. I can go back 5 generations of females thur my tribe. I can go back 12 generations from my Blackfoot tribe. Most jewelry skills and health healing recipes are handed down and only a hand full of folks kept records or kept the trade, as to how this was done.

I do a representation of the work, with as many natural materials I can find to honor my heritage. What commercialism has done, makes one register for trademarks to secure the copy rights of the person or persons making a certain style or product for true authenticity.

I agree, if you don’t have the heritage, don’t make the claim.

I have a nice set listed here on my site and by the stones I can tell the area but it is unsigned but lovely non the less and why becuase each piece is a different creation by a artist

The spirit will speak!!!!!!!!!!!

and…………. I am the speaking SPIRIT

Thanks for bringing up this topic Wally. I’ve learned some new stuff.

I have looked at lots of NA jewelry, but am never sure if it’s authentic. As stated, anyone can SAY it is, but that doesn’t make it so.

I see mentioned above, that you have to be NA to sell it. Can someone else not sell it on the maker’s behalf? Can one not sell their own goods they’ve bought?

I’m wondering if non-Native American people can wear such jewelry? The thing is, I have my wedding planned for this fall. It should be romantic enough)) I found my bride through an online site – [URL removed] The history of America is our common hobby. But recent trends and lawsuits for cultural expropriation make me think a lot. Wouldn’t such an outfit and jewelry be a challenge to society?