Collection Spotlight with Tahnee Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder

During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown and through the reopening afterward, the Coe Center partnered with First American Art Magazine to present an interactive Zoom series in which Native artists discussed artworks in the Coe Collections. Collections Spotlight brought deep dives into objects from the Coe collection to the public from the artist’s perspective. These events were free and open to the public.

Tahnee Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder (Kiowa/Mvskoki/Seminole) was the director of the Kiowa Tribal Museum and a beadwork and textile artist based in Oklahoma at the time of this recording. She is now the curator, Native American Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Previously, she served as a curator for the Oklahoma History Center. She is an alumna of Harvard Extension School and the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder begins by discussing that these are men’s beaded moccasins. She notes that men have lower ankle-cut moccasins compared to women’s moccasins. Both types of moccasins could have leggings with them. These styles could also depend on the location and time of year, as the Kiowa people were migratory. The embellishments were adapted from the influence of others.

Discussing the materials used to create the moccasins, Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder notes that elk hide was preferred, but deer hide was also used. The white appearance of the hide comes from scraping the buckskin. These moccasins also incorporate rattan material. The rattan also allowed the needle and thread to glide more easily. Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder also noted that the wool and fabric would likely have been added later on. The orange earth dye on the toe is an ochre paint used for decoration and protection. The green-blue on the fringe is oil-based earth pigment, which can change to have a blue appearance over time with oxidation.

Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder also notes the thick, consistent rawhide sole, which is separate from the body of the moccasin and can be replaced. A wrap stitch is used to attach the moccasin to the soaked sole; she notes nowadays, the soles can have holes from an awl, but this does not last as long for use as the soles can absorb water. The size of the shoe tongues also changed with the influences of the contemporary styles.

In discussing her family’s beading, Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder shares that there are distinctions in families’ styles reflected in the beads used, such as through the colors. Women often have floral designs and patterns, and border bead designs can also convey families. She notes that the beaded borders never exceed five to six beads, except for when beading for wider feet or to signify hierarchical figures.

Teri Greeves, the maker of these pictorial beaded converse with Kiowa women in regalia, also participated in the discussion. Greeves notes that she developed her own style of beading shoes. She calls the stitching “lazy stitch,” but she’s heard other people refer to the stitch differently. She notes that the periwinkle blue and cornflower blue are rarer color beads. Greeves says she focused on the attention to detail in the regalia when beading these shoes.