Reviving the Art of Cherokee Beadwork
Traditional Southeastern Beadwork, Crafted With Cultural Care and Precision by Martha Berry, Cherokee Beadwork ArtistÂ
Cherokee Beadwork Inspired by Tradition
Martha Berry is a Cherokee beadwork artist who creates beaded art inspired by traditional Southeastern Woodlands Native American tribal beadwork. Mrs. Berry creates bandolier bags, moccasins, belts, sashes, small purses and knee bands in the styles worn by the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole prior to 1840. Also, framed sun circles are offered exclusively through the All Things Cherokee gallery.
Awards, Recognition, & Honors
On August 27, 2013, Mrs. Berry was designated a Cherokee National Treasure. And, more recently, on May 7, 2023, during the annual Chief's visit to the Cherokee Gadugi group in Fort Worth, Texas, she was recognized as a "Cherokee Nation Honored Elder," in appreciation of her "commitment to the preservation and conservancy of Cherokee customs and heritage."
She was awarded the Tradition Bearer Award by the Cherokee National Historical Society at the Seven-Star Gala, Tulsa, September 26, 2015.
In March 2018, she was a featured artist on Osiyo TV, Voices of the Cherokee People, in a segment called Martha Berry, Leading A Beadwork Revival. Please follow the link to watch.
On July 10, 2020, while social distancing at home during the pandemic, Martha was interviewed for Gilcrease Facebook Live by Danielle Culp of the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Please follow the link for the full interview.
More recently, in December 2023, she was featured on "Beyond the Art,"Â Â a YouTube podcast hosted by Cray Bauxmont-Flynn. Please follow the link to hear Stitching History and Identity: The Art and Soul of Cherokee Beadwork with Martha Berry.
Free Tutorials & Museum Exhibitions
Demonstrations of beading techniques are now available for FREE on her new YouTube channel: Martha Berry Cherokee Beadwork Artist. If you want to learn how to create Cherokee and Southeastern beadwork, four short videos will introduce you to the materials and the basic techniques you will need to know.
Floral Journey With A Twist, a beaded bandolier bag acquired by the Cherokee Nation, is included in the WINIKO: Life of an Object exhibit at the First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City, OK. The exhibit helped FAM celebrate its grand opening in 2021.
The bandolier bag River of Art was showcased as part of Oklahoma City's National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum's "Spiro and the Art of the Mississipian World" exhibition from Feb. 12 to May 9, 2021, then moved with the exhibition to the Birmingham (Alabama) Museum of Art from Oct. 9, 2021 to Feb. 6, 2022. It then traveled to the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas, where the Spiro Exhibition finished its run (March 13 through Aug. 7, 2022). A video created for the opening of the Spiro Exhibition in Oklahoma City can be viewed here: Here.
Exhibitions and Collections Featuring Bandolier Bags
As part of the "Chiefs, Clans & Kin" exhibit, When the Highlands Met the Mounds bandolier bag appeared in the Living Arts Center of Tulsa from May 6 through June 19, 2022, then moved to the Choctaw Cultural Center in Durant, Oklahoma, where it was on display from July 23 to Dec. 31, 2022.Â
That same bandolier bag, When the Highlands Met the Mounds, was part of an amazing art exhibition, To Take Shape and Meaning: Form and Design in Contemporary American Indian Art," at the North Carolina Museum of Art, March 2 through July 28, 2024.
Finally, Freedom of Movement, a bandolier bag completed in 2011, is now a part of the permanent collection at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma (currently closed for a major renovation); Post-Pandemic: Finding a New Direction, is in the collection of the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta; and a very special bandolier bag, Gifts of the River, has been acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art.
Cherokee Beadwork Finding New Homes
"I could not be more pleased that my creations are traveling or finding homes in museums, where they can be seen by so many for years to come," Mrs. Berry said. To learn more About the Artist and her amazing journey, please follow the link.
This small black purse was commissioned by the University of Kansas in 2010 as a special gift to the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Â
TO PURCHASE BEADWORK, please contact Mrs. Berry by email at mberrybeadwork@yahoo.com.
To order patterns and how-to instructions for making Southeastern Woodlands beadwork, click here and order online. We offer patterns for traditional bandolier bags, sashes, belts, three styles of moccasins, and small purses.
This site dedicated to Anna Belle Sixkiller Mitchell, Cherokee National Treasure
... in loving memory. Without Anna's courage, generosity, and love, I could never have done any of this. mkb
Special Thanks...Â
To my daughter, Christina, for creating my original website, which served me well for many years, and for her support and inspiration while creating her own amazing website All Things Cherokee, and for becoming a beader.
- To my daughter, Karen, an outstanding Cherokee gourd carver and finger weaver, for making my tear dress, her dad's ribbon shirt, her own wedding gown, and for letting me bead her cuffs and train.
- To my husband, Dave, for taking the beautiful photographs you see on this website, maintaining this site, and for making me believe that I could do this thing.
Wado, Martha Berry
Martha Berry: Cherokee Beadwork Artist on Facebook
Martha Berry: Cherokee Beadwork Artist
Mrs. Berry creates beaded bandolier bags, moccasins, belts, sashes, small purses in the styles worn
