 | Traditional skill/art/craft: Umatilla Dentalium Piecework Years Awarded: 2012 Contact Information: Phone: (541)310-1914 Email: mildredquaempts@ctuir.org |
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
My name is Mildred Anne Quaempts, my Indian name is istisyawak. I have been a resident of the state of Oregon all of my life. I have five children (one deceased) and six grandchildren. I am a Umatilla language speaker and have had the opportunity to learn other dialects at Warm Springs and Yakama. I help the tribal community during sacred ceremonies my hobby is sewing wedding headdresses or veils for women and dentallium hair ties. I have been using dentalliums since I was ten years old helping my grandmother to put cowrie and dentallium shells on dresses and dentallium medallians with tiny shells. I like to use real smoked hide or white hide, old beads and two inch shells.
APPRENTICE BIOGRAPHY - MODESTA MINTHORN 2012
Modesta Minthorn is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, where she lives on the Umatilla reservation and works for the tribe in the Tribal Language Program. She is a traditional artist working with Roberta Kirk on dentalium pieces for wedding veils, hair ties, and other cultural pieces.
Q+A WITH THE MENTOR ARTIST
Describe your traditional art.
Body
Piecework with denatallium shell which can elaborately decorate a dress, hair pieces, earrings, hats. I usually make hairpieces and wedding veils for brides. I enjoy making the veils because they each are not made the same. I do stay as traditional as possible when I make the veils. I don’t give the veils to the bride until one day before she marries or the same day.
How did you come to learn this tradition?
Body
I first observed and helped using denalliums with my grandma, Annie Joe, better known as “Tquannanmy” when she was applying them on medallions or on dresses. I was 9 year old. I used to travel with her to Indian wedding trades and saw other young girls wearing hairpieces made from dentallium. I love looking at old photos of individuals using dentallium.
Experience/Honors
Body
My honor is making items using dentallium in memory of my grandma Annie Joe who not only taught me this special work but [also from whom] I learned to speak our Indian Language. It’s always rewarding to see my work and never had an opportunity to do presentations. I did mentor on woman who was making a veil for her daughter’s wedding.
I sing at Pendleton Round Up Saturday Arena and participated in the night show Happy Canyon singing [and] welcome dance.
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