Porcupine Quillwork
Before contact and the trade era started between European and Indigenous people, porcupine quills were the dominant material used by tribal people to decorate regalia and ceremonial items of significant value. What makes this art form so unique and valuable is the natural materials that reconnect Tribal people to their roots and identity as Indigenous people. Dana’s passion for creating dance regalia started by watching his mother and grandmother create ceremonial items using glass beads. When Dana wanted to incorporate quillwork for his dance regalia, he discovered that no one in his family or community knew how to quill. This ignited Dana’s dedication to teach himself this ancient art form and also transmit this knowledge by educating others.
Faith, 2019, Santa Fe Indian Art Market, Best of Classification in Diverse Arts. Faith is a full-mounted taxidermy river otter dressed in Woodland style traditional clothing. He was created to honor the Great Lakes Woodland culture and societies. His regalia was inspired by our beliefs and stories.
Defending the Homeland, 2021, Santa Fe Indian Art Market, Best of Classification in Diverse Arts. Art mediums include, taxidermy, micro porcupine quillwork, metal work, lapidary, woodwork, beadwork and feather work.
Medallion RGT, 2018, Wrap porcupine quillwork, 5" x 5". This artwork pushed the limits of color in a piece of its size. Older tribal artwork was very conservative, using 3 or 4 shades of quills at most. This medallion has a color pallet consisting of 17 shades of porcupine quills. The concept and design would be considered very contemporary.
Indian Cowboy, 2018, Hand stitch gauntlets, Porcupine quillwork, 36" x 10". These quilled gauntlets are a reflection of native people in the Midwest and their transition into ranching and farming. Native people used this culture to adapt to the change in lifestyle in the mid-1900s.
Walking the Red Road, 2017, Beadwork, Porcupine quillwork, 30" x 10". This oversized pipe bag highlighted the prairie-style floral designs using glass beads and a two-needle beading technique. This artwork was created to honor my peers living a good life and carrying on our culture and societies in our homelands.
Medallion, 2017, Wrap porcupine quillwork, 5" x 5". Growing up I saw a great deal of work using the black and white checkerboard design on native artwork. I never understood the meaning, but I liked the look of it. Years later an older artist explained to me it represents the opposite forces in our lives.
Walking In Their Footsteps, 2018, Hand stitch moccasins, Porcupine quillwork, 10" x 9". These are tribal-inspired shoes better known as moccasins. The stitching is known as a center seam pucker toe of the tribes of the Woodland Great Lakes. The leather is cut out in one piece and fabricated into a shoe form.
Concho Belt, 2018, Silverwork, Porcupine quillwork, 40" x 4". This belt is the first of its kind mixing porcupine quillwork with silversmithing in a piece of artwork. The technique used was overlay silverwork accented with kingman turquoise which inspired a new birth to my jewelry.
Wapenonah, 2017, Woodwork cradle board, Porcupine quillwork, 30" x 10". Wapenonah is a full-sized cradle board traditionally used to carry our newborn babies. The work was inspired by the birth of my nephew and this was the Indian name he was given. The colors and designs come from his birth color and tribal concepts.