Native Indians

Native American Tribes.

There were many different Native American tribes and those with similar characteristics formed a main tribe or nation. Each had its own language, religion and customs.

For the most part the tribes lived peaceably believing that nature was sacred and was to be shared. However, the coming of the Europeans and the removal of their land led to conflict both between the different tribes and between the Indians and whites.

By the end of the nineteenth  century the Indians had lost their fight to preserve their traditional way of life and those that had survived the conflicts were confined to reservations.

Native american clothing was a distinctive part of native american culture, weaving, beading, and detailed work such as feathering played an integral part in there clothing. Intricate beadwork and feathered headdresses were also commonly worn during ceremonial displays. They were very resourceful with all of the materials that were available to them, they used the skins of deer to  

make clothes as well as leather. Beads and shells were also frequently used to embellish tribal dress. There were many different beadwork patterns that were symbolic to each tribe.

 Native Americans worshipped and appreciated nature, they showed this in there dress and make up by using a variety of materials were used to make dye such as roots, berries and tree barks. Clay, mud, plants and even duck droppings were used to apply to the body. They would add warm water to these products and apply them using brushes made from natural materials such as willow sticks, chewed cottonwood or even buffalo bone.
Colour was a important part in native american culture and symbolised different things when painted onto the face along with the placement of the design, telling a story.

Red was the colour of aggression, danger and war. White symbolised peace. Black was the colour of living, and was worn during war preparations. Green was worn under the eyes and was believed to give the person night vision. Yellow was the colour of death and was worn when a person was in mourning, on men yellow would show that the man had lived a long life and would fight to the end.
These colours would be applied in a variety of patterns, which would range from a few lines to the whole face being covered.

I like the idea of using colours to express emotion and a story into my make up and hair design. i want to explore the idea of adding colours and contrasting colours to the hair and face. using colour to make one area of the face pop.

here are some examples of how native american tribes make up and dress can be translated to an editorial look.