Some of the earliest Native expressions of prayer, self-identity, adornment and beauty were created in three-dimensional form from materials freely provided by the earth. Walrus ivory figures carried by hunters in the Arctic north, amulets carved in bone or wood or shaped from clay, totems reaching skyward-over the centuries, experienced hands have passed on their understanding and tools to younger hands.

For many Native artisans, it was the memory of a grandmother’s deftly moving fingers, or a grandfather’s quiet words, that stirred up a powerful desire to learn and carry on an ancient skill perhaps in danger of being lost to the modern world. In some cases, the effort of a single artist—who taught someone else, who then taught someone else—has revived and preserved important ancient Native crafts.

Few objects in the world more clearly proclaim “American Indian” than a weathered leather shield, painted, perhaps, with some jagged streaks of lightning; or a baby’s cradleboard, lovingly adorned with colorful beadwork; or a deerskin dress heavy with fringe and elk-horn buttons.