HOLLIS CHITTO (CHOCTAW/LAGUNA/ISLETA)

“I start my bigger projects months in advance as beadwork is not the quickest medium. The most common observation I hear people say is that beadwork takes patience, but I’ve never seen it that way; beadwork is like coloring to me. I see the designs and colors become reality in my hands.”

“Beadwork is a very diverse area of collecting with many tribes having unique and wonderful styles. Plains beadwork is the best-known type of Indian beadwork, but the tribes of the Northwest Woodlands and Plateau have their own work that is definitely worthy of attention and interest.” —Steve Begner, president, Turkey Mountain Traders