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IINII (Buffalo) Earrings
- $42.00
IINII (Buffalo) Earrings
- $42.00
Designed by Inspired Natives™ Collaborator, John Isaiah Pepion (Blackfeet/Piikani), the IINII (Buffalo) Earrings are a tribute to the sacred buffalo. They will bring you great luck and blessings.
These beautiful earrings are assembled by hand in our Seattle studio and are made from acrylic that is cut and high resolution printed with multiple layers of protective coating.
- Circular element is 1.75 in; earring is 3 in. total length from point of the V to bottom of circle
- High resolution printing on clear acrylic
- V-shaped earring hook is gold-plated over 304 stainless steel
- Remove before swimming or showering
Thank you for supporting Inspired Natives™, not "Native-inspired."
Cultural Context:
The background of John's Buffalo design mimics the ledger paper that Plains Indians drew and painted on, which often had text and numbers written on it.
Ledger art is a type of narrative art developed by Plains Indian people and was popular from the 1860s through 1920s. Plains artists traditionally painted on buffalo hide; however, the buffalo eradication program by the US government in the 1800s made buffalo increasingly scarce. Plains artists began using paper as the canvas for their narrative designs: artists often used ledger books, the portability of which were ideal for the nomadic Plains lifestyle. Ledger art was primarily drawn or painted by men and depicted narrative, representational subjects (as opposed to the geometric designs frequently found on parfleches, which were most often painted by women).
This is an original ledger by an unknown Blackfeet (Piikani) warrior. It was collected in 1905 on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. Today, the work is part of the Autry Museum collection: John took this photo of the work when he visited the collection in Los Angeles.
about the artist
My name is John Isaiah Pepion, and I am a Plains Indian graphic artist from the Piikani Band of the Blackfoot Confederacy. I'm based out of the Blackfeet reservation in north-central Montana, where the Rocky Mountains meet the plains. I am best known for my ledger art, which is an art tradition that developed in Plains tribes: as the buffalo hide we traditionally used for painting became scarce, Plains people were forced to adapt by making artwork on ledger paper from accounting books. I come from a family of artists, and ledger art has been in my family for hundreds of years.