Cocopah Indian Beaded Jewelry

CUCAPA INDIAN BEAD ART of Pozo de Arvisu Cucapá Indian Community, Sonora, Mexico, is pictured in this 2005 photo are small hand-made beaded pins of tribal ladies in traditional regalia, animals frogs covered in colorful sequins with beaded necklaces -- the webmaster blended these two photographs together for the layout -- the frogs are actually much larger compared to the ladies in real life.

In 2005, there were several Native American Indian jewelry artists eking out a living in this small tribal ejido as professional ethnographic artists. Some of their art finds its way across the the US-Mexico border in Indian stores like Shumup Ko Hup, powwow and cultural booths -- but the authentic Cucapa beaded art is pretty easy to spot because of the artists' exceptional use of tribal color, and fine quality of the hand work.

HISTORICAL INDIAN POSTCARD ca. 1900

This historical antique hand-colored postcard drawing depicts three Native American women selling Indian bead work with a young immigrant boy looking away and downward in a scene titled "Indians selling bead work, Yuma, Arizona."

Aboriginal peoples of this tribal region include the Cocopah and Quechan, Colorado River tribes.

Information on the backside of the vintage collectable card includes: Van Ornum Color Print Co, Los Angeles; Pub. by Souvenir Publishing Co. Los Angeles, San Francisco, AR19, On the Road of a Thousand Wonders.

I scanned an original color print for The Kumeyaay Information Village website -- can't speculate if this was produced from a hand-painted photograph or an artist's painting -- but it most likely was printed c.1900 as a novelty tourist postcard inasmuch for its early color printing technology and stereotypical statement about American Indians surviving in the turn of the 20th century.

Today's more professional ethnographic Cocopa bead artists include: MARIAN HUCK | ELIZABETH CORTEZ | GUADALUPE PESADO | MAURICIA WILSON | ISABEL PESADO | ARONIA WILSON | ERONIA TAMBO | AURELIA CANEDO