Beading Culture: Raised Beadwork and the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin

BEADING CULTURE TOUR WITH ANNE PRYOR Wednesday, October 12, from 1–2:00 pm. Free and open to the public!

Anne Pryor is a folklorist who specializes in the traditional cultures of Wisconsin. She served as a folklorist on staff with the Wisconsin Arts Board from 1996 to 2016, where she coordinated the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program and the Woodland Indian Arts Initiative. Pryor was instrumental in the development of the Watrous Gallery's Beading Culture exhibition, which showcases the work of Wisconsin Oneida artists dedicated to the survival of one of their most important artistic traditions: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) raised beadwork. Created in partnership with the Oneida Nation Arts Program and Oneida Nation Museum, the exhibition tells a story of cultural resilience and the role of art in defining community.

press release: Beading Culture will showcase the work of Wisconsin Oneida artists dedicated to the survival of one of their most important artistic traditions: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) raised beadwork. Created in partnership with the Oneida Nation Arts Program, the exhibit tells a complex, layered story of cultural resilience and the role of art in defining community. Featured artists include Rodrick Elm, Sandra Westcott Gauthier, Karen Ann Hoffman, April Jordan, Judith L. Jourdan, Jim Kelly, Christine Klimmek, Rose Malanik, Laura Manthe, Christine Munson, Stefanie Sikorokowski, Loretta Webster, Rebecca Webster, and Betty Willems.

The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) are known for their distinctive raised beadwork technique. Typically associated with items made for tourists around Niagara Falls, this technique arose in the 19th century and was widely practiced into the 1950s, particularly among the Tuscarora and Mohawk Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. As the tourist market dwindled, however, so did the number of artists creating raised beadwork.

Since the 1980s, several dedicated artists have made a concerted effort to teach and share raised beadwork through classes, workshops, and ongoing beading circles. This technique is increasingly used as a marker of tribal identity on pieces made for personal and ceremonial use, as well as for sale. Among the Wisconsin Oneida, raised beadwork has become a vital link to sister Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in New York and Ontario.

Through the inclusion of historic raised beadwork pieces; works by artists Lorna Hill (Cayuga), Rosemary Rickard Hill (Tuscarora), and Samuel Thomas (Cayuga), who have mentored the Wisconsin Oneida beaders; and video of contemporary beading circles, Beading Culture will communicate the evolution of raised beadwork over time and its importance to the Oneida today.

Beading Culture is co-curated by Jody Clowes, James Watrous Gallery Director, and Anne Pryor, recently retired as the Folk and Traditional Arts Specialist for the Wisconsin Arts Board, with help and guidance from the artists themselves and from staff at the Oneida Nation Arts Program and the Oneida Nation Museum.