Martha Berry: Cherokee Beadwork Artist

Floral Journey With A Twist

Beaded Bandolier Bag By Martha Berry

• Winner: 2nd Place, Traditional Beadwork, Cherokee Art Market, October, 2014, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Size: Approx. 36" H x 16" W x 2" D

Materials: Glass seed beads on wool broadcloth, linen, silk, wool yarn. To the extent possible, all materials are authentic to the early 19th century.

Notes: This bandolier bag required 303 hours to create.

Acquired by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, it is currently on loan as part of Smithsonian's WINIKO: Life of an Object exhibit at the First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City, OK, which opened in September, 2021.

The floral designs on this bandolier bag were inspired by the exhibit Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork at the Autry National Center of the American West in Los Angeles, California, in 2014.

The designs represent places where my daughter’s ancestors lived. The plants are thistle (Scotland), shamrocks (Ireland), bluebonnets (Texas), Rosa Oklahoma (Oklahoma), and sunflower (Kansas).

The triangular flap, centerpiece of the bag, is adorned by a wild, vivid pink rose that grows on Twist Mountain in the heart of the Cherokee Nation.

All of the floral images are only partially beaded because, although all of the places represented are a part of us, none of them is all of us.

Floral Journey With a Twist is currently on display in the WINIKO: Life of an Object exhibit at the First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City, OK, which celebrated its grand opening on September 18, 2021. I am honored to be part of that exhibition.