“My Backyard Birds Vase” by Sandra Wescott-Gauthier.
In “Beading Culture,” the citizens of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin are personalizing a fine art form that links them to their ancestors and to each other.
The exhibit of raised beadwork, on display at the James Watrous Gallery on the third floor of the Overture Center through Nov. 6, shows how modern Wisconsin artists are reinvigorating a cultural tradition and making it their own.
Iroquois raised beadwork, a 3D style popularized in the 1850s in New York state and Lower
Ontario in the form of souvenirs, helped the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) make a living. The Oneida, one of Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, relocated to Wisconsin in 1820, and with the move, lost some of the connection to the traditional arts.
In the early 1990s, Karen Ann Hoffman, an Oneida whose work is on display in the exhibit, saw an ad in a tribal newspaper for a class taught in northern Wisconsin by two citizens of the Cayuga Nation from New York. The class sparked a revival of the beading style, creating a way for the citizens of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin to build bonds with each other.
“This beadwork threads us together in a very strong way, and that is the magic of the reinvigoration — that it really allows us to connect,” Hoffman says. Hoffman now teaches five beadwork apprentices, ages 11 to 50. In recognition of the emerging beading scene in Wisconsin, the International Iroquois International Beadwork Conference, traditionally held in Canada or New York, convened in Green Bay this year.
“Beading Culture” showcases examples of the early raised beadwork, including purses and sewing cases, which were sold as trinkets. These pieces tend to stick to one color, typically white, with the name of the location, such as Niagara Falls, and the year.
Wisconsin Oneida beadwork on display shines with the colors of the rainbow in traditional motifs infused with modern cultural symbols.
“There is a movement to find personal expression and design a local tradition,” says Jody Clowes, director of the James Watrous Gallery.
Modern Iroquois raised beadwork includes functional pieces, including caps, bags and regalia for powwows. Bead artists also create art pieces, including jewelry boxes and water urns.
Wisconsin Oneida raised beadwork integrates nontraditional motifs: bright red strawberries, revered for the fruit’s healing properties, and glistening, jewel-toned hummingbirds, signifying the transmission of knowledge. Other work at the exhibit depicts colorful sandhill cranes, woodpeckers and other flora and fauna native to Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, nearly 75 percent of native people live outside of reservations and trust lands. Raised beadwork has brought some Oneidas together to learn, teach and celebrate their culture.
“This has really strengthened my connection not only with the folks who still live on the reserve, but with all these wonderful Oneida people throughout the state,” Hoffman says. “My hope is that someday there will be enough of a voice, enough of an understanding, enough of an artistic depth that we create a specifically Oneida style.”
Beading Culture Tour with Melanie Herzog
Saturday, October 22, from 1–2 p.m.
Melanie Herzog is professor of art history and chair of the Art Department at Edgewood College in Madison. Free and open to the public.
