Quillwork
Quillwork is a form of textile embellishment traditionally practiced by Indigenous peoples of North America that employs the quills of porcupines as an aesthetic element.
[6][7][8][9] In this way the crafting societies added the additional element of acquired knowledge and experience, which the Cheyenne highly regarded and considered sacred.
Upon entering the Society, women would work first on quilling moccasins, then cradleboards, rosettes for men's shirts and tipis, and ultimately, hide robes and backrests.
[4] The Blackfoot Native American tribe in the Northwest region of North America also put much significance on women who did quillwork.
Red paint would then be used to draw a vertical line from the bridge of the nose to the forehead and altogether this would resemble the foot of a crow.
[11] The Arapaho and Odawa tribes also had religious significance for women in Quillwork as their works would represent sacred beings and connections to nature.
These include clothing such as coats and moccasins, accessories such as bags and belts, and furniture attachments such as a cradle cover.
Quills readily take dye, which originally was derived from local plants and included a wide spectrum of colors, with black, yellow, and red being the most common.
[1] Quills can be appliquéd singly to form curvilinear patterns, as found on Odawa pouches from the 18th century.
The Red River Ojibwe of Manitoba created crisp, geometric patterns by weaving quills on a loom in the 19th century.
The Dene Cultural Institute held two workshops there in 1999 and 2000, effectively reviving quillwork in Wha Ti.
Examples of contemporary, award-winning quillworkers include Juanita Growing Thunder Fogarty, (Sioux-Assiniboine) artist;[22] Dorothy Brave Eagle (Oglala Lakota) of Denver, Colorado;[23] Kanatiiosh (Akwesasne Mohawk) of St. Regis Mohawk Reservation;[24][25] Sarah Hardisty (Dene) of Jean Marie River, Northwest Territories;[26] Leonda Fast Buffalo Horse (Blackfeet) of Browning, Montana;,[27] Melissa Peter-Paul, Mi'kmaw of Epekwitk/Prince Edward Island, and Deborah Magee Sherer (Blackfeet) of Cut Bank, Montana.
