Press

ALBANY – Two elaborate, beaded traditional Iroquois outfits, completed by hundreds of people

in workshops across the United States and Canada, will be the centerpiece of an exhibition that

opens at the New York State Museum on Nov. 4.

Ska-Ni-Kwat (The Power of the Good Mind): Iroquois Beadwork will feature the

newly made man’s and woman’s outfits, along with dozens of examples of traditional

beadwork. The exhibition, which runs through April 15, 2007 in Exhibition Hall, represents

work ranging from the most inspired to the most commercial.

Iroquois women, and some men, have been using beads for more than 200 years. During the

Victorian era, beaded purses, pin cushions and brooches became highly collectible. The practice

moved further from its roots later, as pieces were made to sell to tourists.

“In the early- and mid-1800s, bead workers were making work based on spiritual

beliefs, using designs from nature,’’ said Sam Thomas, an Iroquois bead worker and

educator who created Ska-Ni-Kwat. “Later on, they were making whatever would sell

for $2 or $3 and they had no real sense of what it meant.’’

For nearly 30 years, Thomas has worked to revive and preserve the Iroquois beading

tradition. Through such efforts, it has recently been recognized as a legitimate art form. A

growing number of artists work in both the older, ornate designs and in contemporary,

simpler styles. Today, the emphasis is on artistic expression, not commerce, said Thomas,

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a member of the Lower Cayuga Band of the Iroquois Nation, Six Nations of the Grand

River Reserve, in Canada.

In 2002, he and his mother, Lorna Thomas-Hill, used grants from the W.K. Kellogg

Foundation and the Ontario Arts Council to conduct workshops in museums and cultural

centers across the U.S. and Canada, where approximately 2000 participants then used

what they learned to sew beads on two Iroquois outfits. The elaborate garments, which

include leggings, moccasins and capes, resemble what a woman and a man wore during

the post-Colonial era. They are embellished with yokes, cuffs and purses beaded in red,

white and blue. As many as 2000 people of all ages, ethnicities and nationalities put more than

1500 hours into the project, which Thomas says underscores the rich cultural life of Native

Americans in eastern North America.

“We want to show that it is possible for people from different backgrounds to come

together to create something,’’ Thomas said.

Dozens of beaded objects from his collection and the collection of Dolores Elliott, a

consultant to the Iroquois Studies Association, will be displayed along with the outfits.

They will be arranged in themes that address the use of color, common patterns and

themes, traditional items and those made for tourists.

The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is a program of the New York

StateEducation Department. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in

Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving,

Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible.

Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518)

474-5877 or visiting the Museum Web site at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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