A "Star" is Born: Native American quilter Polly (member of the Three Affiliated Tribes – Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) demonstrates how Star Quilts are created.
Agard Family Quilts : Quilts made by Native American Lakota who are members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in McIntosh, South Dakota.
Alberta J Aspen & Michael Beasley : Tlingit Button Robe. Alberta is Raven of the Dog Salmon Clan and Michael is Raven of the Coho Clan. Alsaka.
Azure Sky Star Quilt Mfg: A native-owned company that provides custom made star quilts.
Button Blankets: This site describes button blankets of the Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit and Nisga’a cultures and has images of two of them, clickable for close-up view.
Button Blankets : Two Haida trade blankets circa 1900 are shown.
Button Blankets Ceremonial Robes of the Pacific Northwest : Article by Wendy Ellsworth reprinted from Bead and Button magazine.
· Button Blankets II Making a Button Robe: Follow-up to the above article.
Clarissa Hudson Studio: This is the web site of Alaskan native, Tlingit Indian artist Clarissa Hudson. Here you can access her extraordinary work.
Dianes Native American Quilts : This is the web site of a Creek/Arapaho/Cheyenne quilter who creates beautiful star quilts.
Eagle Star Quilt: An Eagle Star Quilt by Faye Charging Thunder is shown being used as the background for a display of books.
Elizabeth Dawson : Kwakwaka wakw Nation Makes button blankets for her children and grandchildren to use in cultural dancing. This site shows one of her button blankets and pictures of her demonstrating how to make them to a class.
Exhibition of Native American Quilts Premieres at Smithsonian: Announcement by The Crafts Report of the "To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions" exhibit. Two quilts are shown.
Hopi Quilting – Shared Traditions in an Ancient Community: This article gives a history of quilting in the Hopi Nation as a lead-in to making an announcement about a 1997 exhibition of quilts by the Hopi.
Margaret Wood : Margaret is a quilt artist that is also Native American (Navajo and Seminole descent). This site gives biographical and exhibit information as well as a narrative essay in which she comments about her work and how she draws upon and expresses her cultural heritage through her art.
- Quilt Show Honors Native American Tradition : This is a February 2000 article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin about one of Margaret’s exhibits. Three beautiful examples of her work are shown.
Mathematics Found in Seminole Patchwork: Scroll down 1/4 of the page. Article explaining the symmetry of Seminole patchwork.
The Morning Star Star Quilt : This is an article by Tana Mundwiler which gives extensive information about the history of the Star Quilt.
Native Quilts – Celebrating Tradition: This article is an in-depth review of the exhibit, "To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions", an exhibition organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Pictures of three of the quilts are displayed. They are non-clickable, so enlarged views are not available, but the images are so clear and vibrant, that is not a drawback.
Navajo Textile Certification Dye and Fiber Analysis : Although this relates to the weaving tradition, I think it still will be of interest to anyone seeking information about Native Americans textiles.
PBS Special – Hopi Quilts: Created for Native American Heritage Month (1998?) This program tells the story of quilts in historic and modern Hopi life in the remote Hopi Mesas of northern Arizona. Since missionaries introduced the American craft of quilting to Hopi women more than 100 years ago, simple patchwork bed coverings have evolved into contemporary works of art. "Hopi Quilts" visits quilters and shows how Hopi artisans have adopted the American quilting tradition and made it uniquely their own.
- Hopi Quilts: More extensive information about this program is available on this site of the show’s producer, KAET of Phoenix, and on the Behind the Scenes page. A video of the program can be ordered [no affiliation]: Click here for ordering information
Polly’s Quilts: Home page of Polly (a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes – Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara) and gives information about her involvement in quilting. Primarily a commercial site for selling quilts created by Native Americans. Pictures of quilts are shown, including very close-up views of the craftsmanship.
Seminole Patchwork : An article by Victoria Westermark-Many published in 1997 in Absolutely Florida Magazine.
Star Quilt Tradition: Brief article explaining the tradition of star quilts among North American Indian Tribes.
The Diversity of Native American Quilts : Good article on the history of quilting among Native Americans.
To Honor and Comfort – Native Quilting Traditions: This site of the National Museum of the American Indian provides 14 images (clickable for close-up views) of 14 of the 45 quilts included in the exhbition. They are stunning!
What Does This Indian Symbol Mean?: Site provides an explanation of the symbolic meaning of some Native American symbols found in the Southwest.
Woven by the Grandmothers – Nineteenth Century Navajo Textiles: This site of the National Museum of the American Indian primarily focuses on the craftsmen and women who participated during the 1996 exhibit by giving demonstrations of the traditional methods for creating textiles.
Canadian:
Alice Olsen Williams Anishinaabe
Dorothy Grant : This incredible artist is a Kaigani Haida of the Raven Clan from the Brown Bear House of Howkan. To view some of her artwear designs, click on "Dorothy Grant Label" and "Feastwear Label" on the left. Also, click on "Published Works and Articles" (on the left) to read the following:
"Sculpting on Cloth": A wonderful article by Dorothy Grant about how she feels about her button blankets
"Ingenuous Ingenuity": An article by David Livingston (Globe & Mail, Thursday, April 1, 1993) about how aboriginal designers are dramatically tapping their own heritage for stunning inspiration.
"Feastwear: Haida Art Goes Couture": An article by Margaret B. Blackman in the American Indian Art Magazine (Autumn, 1992) about Dorothy Grant’s stunning designs.
"Fashion Designer: Dorothy Grant" – Article by Vesta Giles (Indian Artist, Fall 1997) about the button blankets and fashion designs of Dorothy Grant.
Florence Edenshaw-Davidson: An article about the loss of cultural heritage.
Dorothy Grant Fashions : On this site, Dorothy Grant delves deep into herself as an artist, giving detailed background information on herself, on the challenges with which she has dealt, and on the lessons learned as an artist and a businessperson. [At the end of each page, click on the right arrow to continue]
Eagle Star : Rita Corbiere (Ojibwe)
Haida Designs : Examples of some traditional designs used in Haida art.
Indian Headdress Quilt : Rita Corbiere (Ojibwe), Alice Fox (Ojibwe), Rita Fairbanks (White Earth Chippewa)
Indian Quilt : Mrs. Ogahmahgegedo (Odawa)
Marge Thomas : Snuneymuxw First Nation
Maxine Matilpi : Killer Whale Button Blanket in the Microsoft Corporation art collection.
Native Roots : Provides some historical information about button blankets.
Reverend Kathryn Gorman-Lovelady : A member of the Metis Nation.
The Quilt of Belonging : This is a project that was begun in 1998. In recognition that Canada was created from a "patchwork" of peoples from aboriginal to immigrants from all over the world, volunteers from every segment of the community are creating quilt blocks that represent their heritage. The finished quilt will be approximately 130 feet long and 12 feet high. Following are blocks from the various aboriginal peoples of Canada that have been completed. Below each block is an explanation of its symbolism, a very brief history of the people, and the name of the blockmaker:
· Abenaki
· Beothuk
· Cayuga
· Dogrib
· Haida – Block maker: Gladys Vandal (Jixa)
· Hare
· Lakota
· Mi’kmaq
· Naskapi
· Odawa
· Ojibwa
· Onandaga
· Sekani
· Tagish
· Tahitan
· Thompson
· Wendat
This list represents about half of the aboriginal peoples from whom they hope to eventually obtain quilt blocks. For the full list, including the immigrant groups that are to be represented, click here
The Talking Quilt : Stardale is a learning and healing center for Aboriginal and impoverished women and serves the communities in Northern Saskatchewan. "The Talking Quilt" was a pilot project designed to address emotional and personal needs, encompassing the medium of color, texture, pattern, touchability and artistry, with visual and mental stimulation
Thunderbird Block Quilt : Alice Fox; Rita Corbiere, and Floyd Fox (Ojibwe)
Thunderbird Star Quilt : Rita Corbiere (Ojibwe)
Untitled : Donald Trudeau (Ojibwe)
