Why We Make Our Jewelry With Copper Instead of Silver

Direct answer: Cherokee Copper works in copper because it's the metal our ancestors used for thousands of years  not because it's cheaper or trendier than silver. Copper tools appear in the archaeological record of Cherokee and related Southeastern peoples going back nearly 10,000 years, later shaped into gorgets, armbands, and pendants. When Greg Stice started coppersmithing, he wasn't picking a material, he was picking up a tradition that had nearly disappeared.

What Is Cherokee Copper?

If you're new here: Cherokee Copper is a family studio, not a grade of metal. Greg Stice designs and hand-forms our pieces; our son Joshua works alongside him, cold-hammering, shaping, and finishing. Read our full story: What Is Cherokee Copper?

[INSERT PHOTO: Hero image — Greg or Joshua mid-hammer-strike on a copper sheet, workshop setting, natural light. Suggested filename: greg-stice-hammering-copper-cherokee-copper-studio.jpg. Suggested alt text: "Cherokee artist Greg Stice hammering a copper sheet in the Cherokee Copper studio."]

Is Copper Traditional to Cherokee Jewelry-Making?

Yes,  and it goes back much further than most people expect. Cherokee coppersmith Steve Mashburn has said Cherokee people started using copper close to 10,000 years ago, sourced originally as pure, naturally occurring copper from the Great Lakes region (Cherokee Phoenix, "Threads Through Time: Copper," 2023). Early copper work was tools and weapon: knives, points, blades. The shift toward jewelry, pendants, and adornment came later, roughly 3,000 years ago, when copper pieces became a marker of status within the community.

Peer-reviewed archaeology backs this up specifically for Cherokee sites, not just the region in general. Research on shell and copper gorgets from Cherokee town sites in southwestern North Carolina ties the iconography on those pieces directly to Cherokee myth and legend, and shows how those towns connected into a much larger Southeastern trade network that carried copper, shell, and other materials across hundreds of miles.

Why Copper Over Silver, in Greg's Own Words

Greg learned coppersmithing from the late Cherokee artist Toneh Chuleewah, one of the people who revived the craft and taught classes in Tahlequah before he passed. As Greg put it to the Cherokee Phoenix: "It's the metal that all of our elders utilized and we're just continuing that tradition."

That framing matters, because silver jewelry among Southeastern tribes is largely a later development, it came into wider use after European trade introduced silver, iron, and steel alongside copper. Copper isn't the "budget version" of Cherokee jewelry. It's the original material. Silver is the newer addition.

There's also a harder truth behind why this matters to our family:  coppersmithing is a genuinely dying art. Greg estimates there are maybe a couple dozen Cherokee people who make copper jewelry of any kind and the number who work as true coppersmiths, start to finish, you could count on two hands. That's part of why he does this. Not just to make jewelry, but to keep a specific, fragile skill alive.

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What Do Copper Gorgets and Cherokee Designs Mean?

Every piece starts as flat copper cut, engraved, hammered, ed, punched, and shaped. Greg engraves traditional Southeastern motifs into many of his pieces: the eternal knot, the two-headed and four-headed woodpecker, the Uktena, and the Cherokee syllabary. These motifs draw on the same visual tradition archaeologists call the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex,  imagery carried across shell, copper, and stone artifacts throughout Mississippian-era Southeastern societies, including ancestral Cherokee communities.

The gorget itself has its own separate history worth knowing. As we've written about before, gorgets were originally made of shell, dating back to around 200 BCE. The hammered-copper gorget most people picture today came later, after European trade brought copper into wider circulation alongside iron and steel, and Cherokee and other Southeastern artisans began working it using the repoussé technique. So the symbols carved into a copper gorget carry an old, deep tradition: the copper gorget as an object is a somewhat newer expression of that same tradition.

Is Copper as Durable as Silver?

This is the practical question underneath the tradition question, and it's a fair one. Copper is a softer metal than sterling silver, which is actually part of why it was workable for Cherokee artisans without smelting; they could cold-hammer and anneal it by hand. Worked correctly, copper jewelry holds up well to everyday wear. Over time it develops a natural patina, which most of our customers come to like rather than see as a flaw; it's a sign the piece is being worn and lived in, not sitting in a drawer.

Our Experience With Copper

The question we hear most often at shows isn't really about tradition, it's "won't this turn my skin green?" And the honest answer is: it might, especially in heat or humidity. It's a natural reaction between copper and skin oils, not a defect. It washes off with soap and water, same as it came.

Joshua, who's the next generation carrying forward the tradition of coppersmithing, talks about copper differently than Greg does less about reviving something that was nearly lost, more about what comes after. He's genuinely excited about the idea of one day teaching this to the next generation himself, the same way Greg was taught by Toneh Chuleewah. That continuity, elder to Greg, Greg to Joshua, and someday Joshua to someone else, is really what this material represents to our family more than anything else.

What Should You Look for When Buying Copper Jewelry?

• Ask who made it and how. Hand-hammered, cut, and engraved copper looks and feels different from cast or machine-stamped pieces.
• Expect some patina over time. If a seller claims copper will never tarnish or change, that's a red flag, not a feature.
• Look for tribal affiliation, not just "Native-inspired." Copper motifs drawn from Southeastern tradition should come from artists connected to that tradition. [Read: What Does "Native-Made" Actually Mean?]

Frequently Asked Questions

Is copper traditional to Cherokee jewelry-making?

Yes. Cherokee people and their ancestors have worked copper for close to 10,000 years. It was originally used for tools and weapons, shifting toward jewelry, gorgets, and status adornment roughly 3,000 years ago.

Will copper jewelry turn my skin green?

It can, especially with sweat or humidity, but it washes off with soap and water and isn't harmful. It's a natural reaction between copper and skin oils, not a flaw in the piece.

Is copper as durable as silver?

Copper is a softer metal than sterling silver, which is part of why it was workable for Cherokee artisans without smelting. With normal care, copper jewelry holds up well and develops a natural patina over time rather than wearing out.

Why does Cherokee Copper use copper instead of silver?

Copper is the metal Cherokee ancestors worked with for millennia — it's the material tradition itself, not a substitute for something else. Our family continues that specific tradition rather than working in a metal that came into wider Cherokee use later, through European trade.

Keeping a Fragile Craft Alive

For our family, copper isn't a design choice. It's the material our elders worked, nearly lost to time, kept alive by a handful of people willing to learn it and teach it forward. When you buy a piece from us, you're not just buying copper jewelry — you're supporting one of the few families still doing this work, and helping make sure it's still here for the next generation to learn.