This volume profiles over 1,200 Indian jewelers from all tribes over the past two centuries. The text is illustrated with over 2,000 photographs. We actually recorded over 5,000 Indian jewelers and more keep coming weekly to our research center in Santa Fe. To be fair, we decided to produce three volumes and to go forward with the best developed and best illustrated 1,200 profiles for American Indian Jewelry I.

This book was created with the cooperation of Indian artists. Through artist surveys, archival research and personal interviews, information was collected in 25 categories: including the artist's tribe, clan, active years, type of jewelry, lifespan, family relationships, education, teachers, students, awards, exhibitions, collections, forms, techniques, materials, favorite designs, and publications. Websites and email addresses were listed when possible. Many completed a personal statement, "I enjoy creating artwork, because..." Some wrote or narrated autobiographical statements.