On Friday, Nov. 21, The University of New Mexico Language Learning Center held a free beadmaking workshop featuring Native American beading, a longstanding tradition within Native communities across the United States.
Adam Greenberg, a member of the Mescalero Apache and Taos Pueblo, and Alicia Clouser, a member of the Navajo tribe, led attendees through creating their own set of beaded earrings, while teaching the history behind the Native tradition.
Greenberg said that beading originally traces back to 16th-century China and Europe. He said that it was taught to Native women by Victorian nuns during a time when Native Americans were forcefully evangelized. At this time, beadmaking was seen as a womanly, domesticated hobby that nuns encouraged women to learn, in addition to other hobbies like embroidery.
The beading patterns most often seen today in the Southwest, like pannative and powwow styles, are a collection of influences by various Native American tribes — which are a bit different from tribes that follow specific patterns unique to their tribe, like communities in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. such as the Anishinaabe and Ojibwe people, Greenberg said.
Greenberg said during the 18th and 19th century, a time when children were forced into boarding schools, mothers adorned their children in beaded accessories and clothing as a way to symbolize and preserve their cultural identity.
“Ironically though, despite the introduction of beading as an intent to Europeanize Native women, beadwork quickly became an iconic symbol of Native American identity,” Greenberg said.
An attendee of the workshop, Nizhonii Jones, said she was familiar with beaded artwork as a part of her Native culture, but went to the workshop to see if she was able to do it herself.
“I feel like it gave me a good foot in the door to see if I was able to do it, because I do like sewing and stuff, so I’m a little bit crafty,” Jones said.
Jones said that her experience with sewing made it easier to make the pattern, and that starting a pattern is the most difficult because it’s about building the foundation, she said.
Clouser said that her mother’s help, alongside consistent practice and YouTube videos, were some of the things that helped her the most when she began beading. She also advised to not attempt beading if you are already frustrated or start becoming so.
“It’s just gonna be a disaster,” Clouser said. “If you’re starting to get frustrated — even a little bit — just slow down, take a step back, and then you start it again.”
Greenberg said that beading is about doing something that comes from your own ideas. He advised beginners to never compare their own work to others, because comparison is the thief of joy.
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“Its all about practice, because it’s not technically very hard, if that makes sense. There’s not a lot of crazy techniques, it’s the same stitch over and over again. It’s a practice in patience,” Greenberg said.
Lexis Lovato is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @lovatolexis
