Why Indigenous Beadwork Is My Idea of Luxury
February 28, 2020 10:49 AM   Subscribe

"While growing up, my perception of luxury was always different. I was never exposed to designer labels, nor was it something my family had easy access to. I am Ojibwe and grew up on Nipissing First Nation, a remote indigenous reserve in northern Ontario, Canada. There, I often attended cultural events or powwows, where dancers would be dressed in full regalia—it’s own fashion show, in a way. I would take in the most beautiful outfits, adorned with colorful beading and quillwork. These were pieces that took weeks or months to produce. This, to me, was aspirational fashion."

"Where I once spent hours taking in designer collections on Style.com (now Vogue Runway), I now find myself up staying up way too late scrolling through beadwork accounts on Instagram, taking in every detail of a piece. (Isn’t that what the zoom-in feature is for, after all?) In doing so, I’ve discovered a wide range of talented beaders—badass ladies such as Jamie Okuma, Tania Larsson, and Molina Parker come to mind—who are creating pieces that combine traditional techniques and motifs with innovation. The most treasured piece in my current collection is a beaded cuff by Elias Jade Not Afraid, an Apsaalooké artist known for his radical design aesthetic (think skull medallions and spiked cuffs). I value it more than I would a $4 million Bulgari necklace."

Drop links to your favorite indigenous beaders!
posted by Anonymous (11 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble



 
I have a beaded hair barrette that I bought from an artisan last year at a craft show and which is absolutely gorgeous, and which is sadly too heavy for my pathetic, wimpy hair and I can't wear it because it hurts too much. But it is so terribly beautiful that I keep it in my desk and sometimes I take it out just to look at it and run my fingers over the beads.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:56 AM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]


If I ever finish my giant grey silk shawl, it will make a lovely shawl pin.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:56 PM on February 28, 2020


On occasion, various tribal elders visit my work building and they are often wearing the most incredible beadwork. Yesterday one gentleman had on a rose medallion that was just gorgeous.

I have taken a very rudimentary beadwork class and, wow, it takes an incredible amount of patience. Those beads are teeeeeny.
posted by medeine at 2:52 PM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]


I am looking right now at a pair of gorgeous, gorgeous beaded earrings one of my literacy students gave me. The amount of work that goes into even a small beaded piece is astounding!

Thank you for this article.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:02 PM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]


#nativebeadwork on Instagram has over 56,000 posts.

I've been admiring Native beadworkers' work for a while, just digging the innovation and the playfulness.
posted by spamandkimchi at 4:08 PM on February 28, 2020 [3 favorites]


They are gorgeous and I love her phrasing of the recognition of the artistry and immense time in them. There’s a Peranakan beaded cloth about 3ft square in a local museum here (Peranakan is a European-Asian ethno-cultural group in south east Asia with distinctive colours and imagery) of birds and flowers done in tiny tiny beads that I just have to stand still and gawp at every time. I have a tiny antique beaded purse similar that I treasure but cannot risk handling much.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:58 PM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]


Here is a link to the tablecloth I mentioned.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:02 PM on February 28, 2020 [4 favorites]


I really identify with her words about your cultural crafts being one's own aspirational fashion. At this very moment, there's a 2-weeks national craft fest, which includes indigenous reed-weaving & embroidery, as well as the other native cultures' crafts eg woodworking, metalworking, and textiles (running until 9 March, if you're in the Kuala Lumpur area), and I've literally been saving money for a year, so I can buy stuff from artisans I would never have met. Especially for indigenous folks, this is also an opportunity for them to highlight their wares - and some, like this one (Gerai OA) that focuses exclusively on the marginalised indigenous communities which tends to be from within Peninsular (Borneans are a bit better connected), have built a reputation and they have what they call 'stall stalkers' who follow their itinerant schedule.
posted by cendawanita at 9:23 PM on February 28, 2020 [4 favorites]


terrific post and so many additional links with great beadwork. thanks.
posted by theora55 at 7:03 AM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]


More links to people's favorites, please!
posted by praemunire at 3:19 PM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]


I'm really enjoying Metis beadwork and embroidery.

Heritage Francais backgrounder

The Glenbow Museum (Calgary)'s Collection of Metis embroidery

And Christi Belcourt's work.
posted by sneebler at 10:33 AM on March 1, 2020


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