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ABOUT SHARON AND BARRY

I heard Sharon on the phone the other day with a client telling them about her past and her Indian heritage. I thought, why don't we say that on our web site? So here is what she said.....

"My Great Grandfather was a full blood Cherokee. You can find him on the Dawes Rolls. He married my Grandmother who had Scottish ancestry. They were moved onto the reservation in Oklahoma"........

Although Sharon is of Cherokee heritage and from Texas, she is at this time not enrolled with the Cherokee Nation. Therefore, she cannot state that the art she produces is Native American made. Her great grandfather appears on the Dawes Rolls, but in order for her to be enrolled - she must find the missing birth certificate of her grandmother. Sharon cannot find out whether she was born on the reservation in Oklahoma or in Texas. Further to this, the funeral home where her grandmother was buried caught on fire and those records were destroyed sometime in the 50's or 60's. The search goes on..

For many folk, this does not prove to be a problem as you cannot take away someone's heritage or culture just because they do not possess a piece of paper that states that they are Native American or not.

Although Sharon is American - born in Texas, she has lived in many States throughout the US, such as Arizona, Wyoming and Alaska. I am not a stranger to the US either, Although British - I lived a lot my life in Seattle. We now make our home in Scotland (by the way, it is a lot like parts of Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Alberta Canada).We live with our two dog, three cats, and our North American Buffalo on a small holding.

When we started Native Arts Trading some 17 years plus ago, we were interested in art pieces that were hand made, that told a story and represented all good aspects about traditional and contemporary Native American Indian art. We made a conscious decision not to get involved with the so called tourist/novelty items, but remain very faithful to Native American Indian artisans.

We have - and continue to work with some very talented enrolled Native American artisans from Jerry Lefthand (Navajo), Dan Bert Yazzie (Navajo / Hopi), Dow Haddaway (Shawnee), Marvin Yazzie (Navajo), Cheyenne / Arapaho, Sioux, Apache, Woodlands artists, etc., to name but a few. You will see some of their work showcased on our web site with their tribal affiliation noted.

Over the years, some of these artisans have come and gone, but we still continue to work closely with many other Native Americans that make items for us such as bows, other weaponry, pipes, flutes, jewelry, etc.We did decide sometime ago that we no longer wanted to carry a huge amount of art from Native American artisans that we really did not know or did not have a personal relationship with. We continue to work with artisans on a custom basis and are continually looking for other talented Native American artists that produce original historically accurate art pieces to showcase their work on our web site.

 

 

BARRY

native american beadwork

Sharon & Barry Holton

NATIVE ARTS Trading

Finella Lodge, Drumtochty, by Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire AB30 1TR SCOTLAND
Tel: +44 (0)1561 320914

E-mail: cochise@nativeartstrading.com

© Native Arts Trading Limited