Artisans of Nations Podcast

Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Shelley Patrick, From Disney Imagineering to the Mvskoke Waters Gallery | Artisans of Nations

For decades, a widely circulated book called the circular designs of Southeastern Indigenous art "sun circles." Muscogee artist and independent scholar Shelley Patrick says most of them are not sun circles at all. They are land-based, place-based, and rooted in Mvskoke ways of understanding time, direction, and existence.In this closing episode of Artisans of Nations, recorded live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in partnership with Muscogee Nation, Shelley walks through the visual language of Muscogee iconography with the precision of a scholar and the perspective of someone who grew up surrounded by it. Daughter of Muscogee artist Phyllis Fife, MFA candidate at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Disney Imagineering collaborator, and co-curator at the newly opened Mvskoke Waters Gallery in Jenks, Oklahoma. She is one of the most rigorous voices in this space, and this conversation reflects that.She covers how geometry shapes her art practice, why she learned Muscogee design traditions before European ones, what makes Southeastern iconography distinct from other Indigenous visual traditions, and what it means for Muscogee artists to now have their own tribally run gallery."Art is one of the very first languages to exist, if not the first language, visual language to exist." Find Shelley at shelleypatrick.com [https://www.shelleypatrick.com/] and on Instagram at @ShelleyPatrickArt [https://www.instagram.com/shelleypatrickart/] A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: ⁠www.artisansofnations.com⁠ [www.artisansofnations.com] | social media: ⁠@artisansofnations⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/artisansofnations/] Muscogee Nation: ⁠www.muscogeenation.com⁠ [https://www.muscogeenation.com/] | Instagram: ⁠@visitmuscogeenation⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/visitmuscogeenation/] Artisans of Nations is a storytelling platform honoring Indigenous voices through arts and culture.

Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Leslie Deer, Fashion Designer | Artisans of Nations

Leslie Deer is a Muscogee and Italian fashion designer whose work does something most contemporary clothing does not: it carries the visual language of ancestral wisdom.A third-generation sewer from an urban background who came back to her ancestral designs through dance regalia, Leslie has spent over 10 years translating Muscogee (Creek) motifs: sun circles, wind designs, bandolier-bag silhouettes into contemporary women's wear. Her work is held by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and has been recognized with First Place in Best of Division at the Santa Fe Indian Market.This conversation explores why Southeastern Indigenous iconography is so rarely seen, what each motif communicates, and what it means to be a steward of a design tradition that could otherwise be forgotten. "It is telling you information if you know how to read it." Find Leslie at ladeerapparel.com [https://ladeerapparel.com/] and on Instagram @la.deer [https://www.instagram.com/la.deer/] A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: www.artisansofnations.com [www.artisansofnations.com] | social media: @artisansofnations [https://www.instagram.com/artisansofnations/] Muscogee Nation: www.muscogeenation.com [https://www.muscogeenation.com/] | Instagram: @visitmuscogeenation [https://www.instagram.com/visitmuscogeenation/] Artisans of Nations is a storytelling platform honoring Indigenous voices through arts and culture.

Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Sandy Fife-Wilson, Master Artist & A Living Legacy | Artisans of Nations

Sandy Fife-Wilson is one of the most decorated Muscogee Nation artists, a Master Artist designee of the Five Civilized Tribes Museum, a co-founder of the landmark Fife Collection, and a practitioner of finger weaving, shell carving, Creek basketry, painting, and beadwork whose work spans more than five decades and sits in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.Sandy talks about growing up in a household where art was constant and technique was passed from hand to hand from her mother, trained at the Santa Fe Indian School, to Sandy herself, and now to her grandchildren. She walks through the mechanics of finger weaving, the meaning carried in Mvskoke sash patterns, and shell carving practice. "Just because it hadn't been done before doesn't mean it can't." Find Sandy on Facebook and Instagram at Sandy Fife Wilson. A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: ⁠www.artisansofnations.com⁠ [www.artisansofnations.com] | social media: ⁠@artisansofnations⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/artisansofnations/] Muscogee Nation: ⁠www.muscogeenation.com⁠ [https://www.muscogeenation.com/] | Instagram: ⁠@visitmuscogeenation⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/visitmuscogeenation/] Artisans of Nations is a storytelling platform honoring Indigenous voices through arts and culture.

Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Dan Beaver, Wood Carver | Artisans of Nations

Dan Beaver is the only Muscogee Nation citizen still making the traditional gunstock war club and he's been doing it for 25 years.A retired law enforcement officer and wood carver from Wetumka, Oklahoma, Dan has spent decades reviving the "Itonufkos", the traditional Mvskoke name for this weapon, using Southeastern Mississippian motifs: raging rivers, wind designs, horned serpents, and thunder patterns. His work is held by the Smithsonian Institution, Emory College Museum, and the Cowboy Hall of Fame, and a piece he made was once displayed in the White House. In this opening episode of Muscogee Nation Artist Talks recorded live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in partnership with Muscogee Nation, Dan talks about the history behind the weapon, why pre-contact Southeastern design matters today, and what it means to be the last person in your tribe keeping a tradition from disappearing. "They didn't suffer through all that for me to forget about where we're from." Find Dan on Facebook and Instagram under Red Hand Designs. A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: ⁠www.artisansofnations.com⁠ [www.artisansofnations.com] | social media: ⁠@artisansofnations⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/artisansofnations/] Muscogee Nation: ⁠www.muscogeenation.com⁠ [https://www.muscogeenation.com/] | Instagram: ⁠@visitmuscogeenation [https://www.instagram.com/visitmuscogeenation/] Artisans of Nations is a storytelling platform honoring Indigenous voices through arts and culture.

Muscogee Nation Artist Talks: Nelson Harjo Sr. The Breath of Creator | Artisans of Nations

Nelson Harjo Sr. is one of only two remaining Native American flute makers in Muscogee Nation. In this live artist talk, he shares why that distinction both humbles and motivates him. This conversation covers Nelson's musical roots, his decision to walk away from formal training to protect his creative voice, and the deep spiritual connection he draws between breath, the Creator, and the sound of the Mvskoke flute.He also talks about playing for a loved one in a coma, the pre-Removal history of the flute in Mvskoke communities, and his ongoing effort to keep this tradition alive. A Mvskoke Artist Talk Series. Recorded Live at the 5th Annual Msvkoke Art Market hosted at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Produced in Partnership with Muscogee Nation and Artisans of Nations. Learn More: Artisans of Nations: ⁠www.artisansofnations.com⁠ [www.artisansofnations.com] | social media: ⁠@artisansofnations⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/artisansofnations/] Muscogee Nation: ⁠www.muscogeenation.com⁠ [https://www.muscogeenation.com/] | Instagram: ⁠@visitmuscogeenation⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/visitmuscogeenation/] Artisans of Nations is a storytelling platform honoring Indigenous voices through arts and culture.