A few years ago, the Gwich’in jeweler Tania Larsson was on the hunt for materials to create some new pieces. Specifically, Larsson was searching for dentalium shells—the long, tubular shells deriving from Dentalium, a type of marine mollusk. Only problem was Larsson couldn’t find any; all of her usual suppliers, including various trading posts, were completely depleted of the increasingly rare shells. But then Larsson got a call: One seller had a good assortment up for grabs. The artist didn’t hesitate: “I was like, ‘Can I buy them all?’”
In the Indigenous fashion world, dentalium shells—which resemble tusks due to their curved shape and milky white color—are considered just as precious as diamonds, if not more, because they are becoming increasingly difficult to find. “My most valuable shells are antique ones from North America, because those are thick and long,” says Larsson. “Those are not even like diamonds—they’re one in a million.” It’s not just a question of rarity: Dentaliums continue to be sought after for their unique histories and special meanings too.
So where exactly do these shells come from—and why are they considered more valuable than precious gems?
Indigenous communities across North America have long considered dentalium shells a treasured item. The use of the shells for Indigenous-made clothing and jewelry predates European colonization; they were most widely embraced by tribes in the Pacific Northwest, such as the Kwakwaka’wakw and the Nuu-chah-nulth, due to their proximity to the sea, where the shells could be easily harvested. Eventually, though, Indigenous trade networks carried the shells thousands of miles, from the Pacific Ocean to the Great Plains, and were exchanged with tribes such as the Lakota and Ojibwe. The shells began to be used as a form of adornment and even currency.
Mostly, though, the shells were prized for their unique beauty. Dentaliums were used (and still are) as decorative ornamentation on capes, dresses, headdresses, and jewelry—especially on regalia pieces meant for traditional powwows and ceremonies. Dentaliums often served as a means to display one’s wealth too: The more shells you had, the more respected and noble you were considered in your community. “This display of wealth was not a display of greed and power,” says Larsson. “It was a display of selflessness, because whenever you did good deeds for your community, you were gifted rare items like the dentaliums.”
This approach to wearing shells—as a form of reverence and cultural pride—has persisted. Today, the shells continue to be found on powwow regalia (Russell McCloud is an in-demand artist for traditional breastplates), as well as on avant-garde runway fashions and fine-jewelry pieces. Artisans such as Larsson, Jamie Okuma, and Keri Ataumbi are creating striking dentalium jewelry in contemporary ways—though they still very much value the shells in the traditional way. “Even with our acquiring capabilities today, they are still a very rare material,” says Okuma, who is known for her signature tiered dentalium earrings (worn on the red carpet by stars like Lily Gladstone). “You don’t just find them washed up on shores.” (Due to climate change and shifting ocean temperatures, the population of Dentalium has slowly begun shifting to the Arabian Sea.)
These days, if you can find the shells more locally, there is a scale for their value. Their desirability is based on factors such as their age, patina, length, thickness, and smoothness. “Each one is individual,” says Ataumbi. “You may have some whose beauty is in their size, some their luster.” (Some shells, for instance, can even have a greenish hue.) Bags of dentaliums can go for hundreds of dollars by the pound or even upwards of $50 per shell.
Given how rare it is to find just the right ones, many artists guard their dentalium sources with a sense of discretion and secrecy—and they use what they get sparingly and with intention. “It’s a very finite material,” says Okuma. “For the dentalium earrings I’m making now, they’re from somebody’s stash from about 20 years ago, and I bought those 10 years ago.” Ataumbi also treats her dentaliums as a special-occasion-only material. “I still have the shells my mother had in her sewing supplies and will only use them for pieces meant for my family,” Ataumbi says. “They are distinctly different from the shells you can acquire today: They have a beautiful patina and luster, and the walls of the shells are very thick.”
Innovation has arisen out of the sparsity of the shells. When artists use them in a piece, they make sure it’s worthwhile, and the end result is often breathtaking. Ataumbi enjoys combining dentaliums with fine-jewelry elements such as diamonds and high-carat gold. “All three materials are equal in value in my Native artist’s brain,” says Ataumbi. “By combining [the shells] with high-carat gold and diamonds, the pieces highlight our different value systems and create connections between us.” Larsson has created dentalium harnesses combined with bison horn; Indigenous labels such as House of Sutai and Copper Canoe Woman have created striking body chains and headpieces. Recently, Okuma designed a full-on dentalium dress, which debuted at the 2025 Santa Fe Indian Market. “I’ve thought about it for years,” says Okuma. “Shells are very sculptural, so they lend themselves perfectly to a dress. It felt very Native and modern. The dress represents us living in the now.”
Okuma’s storytelling, through her use of shells, points to a larger movement in the Native fashion world, where artists use fashion to reflect their symbiotic relationship with organic materials and the natural world around us. “Our connection to material is real, and for some of us, there is a definite ancestral connection and an environmental one,” says Ataumbi.
Larsson echoes this sentiment, adding that for many—both creators and wearers of dentalium pieces—the shells reflect a continuation of tradition and a form of cultural preservation. “There’s history and memories attached to these materials,” says Larsson. “By wearing them, we are passing down the importance of value and what it means to be wealthy in our traditional ways.” Plus, they are quite simply just beautiful to look at; that never hurts, either. “They are conversation starters,” says Larsson. “When you wear them, people will stop you in the street and ask you about them. No one’s going to stop me if I’m wearing a diamond ring.”
