About the Organizer, Jeri Ah-be-hill (Kiowa)
For twenty-five years Ah-be-hill owned and operated an Indian Trading Post on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Fort Washakie, Wyoming. Local powwows gave her the opportunity to purchase Indian clothing from various tribes for the purpose of put­ting on Indian fashion shows. ‘My goal for these style shows was and remains a way for me to educate the public that we, as Native peoples, are different nations, with different languages, different religions, and different cultures, who have very distinctive and different clothing styles.’
Above image: Jeri Ah-be-hill (Kiowa) models traditional Plains Indian dress. Photo by John Running.

About the Designers

Keri Ataumbi (Kiowa), Jewelry
Ataumbi was raised on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, where her mother’s trading post that brought in Southwestern jewelry made strong impressions on her. She describes her approach as aca­demic, constantly learning new techniques that embrace casting and fabricating. Her creativity she describes as irrational, intu­itive, and physical. An iron bracelet reflects her wish that “my work be like sculpture.” Ataumbi strives for contrasts, where the form is one of armor yet the totem might be a fragile dung beetle or a caterpillar. To coax such distinctions into visibility remains evident in her galvanizing metal jewelry. She now uses—and flaunts—com­binations of iron and high-karat gold, fine silver and found objects, and fair-trade dia­monds. And her jewelry’s strength comes out of the tension between sculpture and craft, a design sense rooted in story and symbol, and the knowledge that the urge to wear, like the urge to make, is primal.

Teri Greeves (Kiowa), Beadwork
Teri Greeves was born in 1970. She grew up on the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming and now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Greeves is known for her beaded purses, moccasins, belts, bracelets, and sneakers. Greeves always intends for her sneakers to be worn, not to collect dust on a shelf. “Beadwork is a way of decorating objects we use every day. The art form I chose is functional, and the wearer becomes part of the work.” She adds, “With commissioned pieces, I like to know something about the person, if they have an affinity for a certain animal, for example. Other times, the inspiration is random. My bracelets, which were done last summer at night, have bug motifs.” Greeves says, “Indian beadwork comes from a long tradition. Techniques and ideas come from before me. My grandmother, a beadworker, is present in everything I do.”

Jamie Okuma (Shoshone Bannock, Luiseño), Beadwork
At age twenty-three, Jamie Okuma is on the road to an illustrious career, having won awards every time she has exhibited. The adulation is over Okuma’s dolls, which replicate—down to the last moccasin bead—traditional Native clothing. To lend authenticity to her creations, the artist makes an annual trek to the trading post at her grandmother’s home on the Shoshone and Bannock reservation near Fort Hall, Idaho, to buy antique beads. Guided by her mother, Okuma’s natural talent for painting, drawing, and sewing emerged early. “I still have my very first beaded piece—a little rosette. For a five-year-old, it was pretty good,” she says. Ceremonial clothing has always been Okuma’s love. Okuma participated in powwows, and at age sixteen, she began making beadwork for dancers’ costumes and constructed her first doll just for fun.

Tsosie Gaussoin Family, (Picuris Pueblo, Navajo) Jewelry
Connie Tsosie Gaussoin, of Picuris Pueblo and Navajo heritage, is the matriarch of an extraordinarily talented family of artists that includes Major Jerry E. Gaussoin Jr., David Gaussoin, Wayne Nez Gaussoin, and Tazbah Gaussoin, all of whom are nationally respected for their skills as jewelers and artists. They come from a family of silversmiths, painters, rug weavers, singers, sculptors, and other artists. This, along with Connie’s personal experiences, including worldwide travels, has shaped her opportunities to view and interact with people of other cultures and artistic abilities. Her family and clan heritage provides a basis for the design and development of her jewelry. Connie’s jewelry is a personal statement about her abilities and interests at the time of its creation. It reflects her Navajo heritage, Pueblo traditions, and the development of new inspirations. The traditional and contemporary jewelry Connie designs and creates represents her interpretations of her diverse background.

Margaret Wheeler (Chickasaw-Choctaw), Mahota Handwovens
The spirit of her great-great-great-grandmother Mahota flows through the contemporary Native American costumes woven by Margaret Roach Wheeler, a Native American of Chickasaw-Choctaw descent. True to the tradition of her ancestors, and reinforced by her experiences as a child and later as an adult on several Indian reservations, Wheeler perceives clothing as an art form, expressive of both the spirit and the culture of the wearer. To early Native Americans, the garments they designed and wore were an extension of their thoughts and reflected their skills and tribal status. Wheeler’s artistry reinterprets traditional designs and imbues them with her personal vision.

About the Autry National Center
The Autry National Center is an intercultural history center that includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of the American West (formerly the Autry Museum of Western Heritage), and the Institute for the Study of the American West. Each institution maintains its individual identity; however, the convergence of resources allows us to expand our understanding of the diverse peoples of the American West, connecting the past with the present to inform our shared future. The Autry National Center’s executive offices are located in Griffith Park.

Autry National Center Mission Statement 
The Autry National Center explores the experiences and perceptions of the diverse people of the American West, connecting the past with the present to inform our shared future.

Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027 323.667.2000 www.autrynationalcenter.org