Indigenous
New England
"We're Still Here"
Online Exhibit:
"We're Still Here"
Online Exhibit
Contemporary Indigenous New England Artists
Monica (Little Flower) Alexander
Monica Alexander is a Mi’kmaq bead, bone, and porcupine quill worker from East Otis, MA.
"Although I had been told by my Mother of our Native roots, it was not until many years later that I became seriously involved with our Native Heritage. In the beginning, as a self-taught artist, what I made and sold on my vendor's table did not soley reflect the art and history of the Northeast Peoples, so much as they did that of our Western Plains 'cousins'. But as I started to grow artistically, and began to study and research not only the history of the New England Peoples, but that of my own ancestor's, the Mi'Kmaq (Micmac), I realized the arts of these cultures had long been overlooked, and these Peoples not fairly represented in this particular area.
For years, and due largely to the ideas fostered by Hollywood, the non-Native community had been under the impression that no 'First nations', or 'Indians', existed East of the Mississippi. People were unaware, really, of the rich cultures, and artistic history of the First Nations indigenous to the Northeast, and were basically missing out on the artforms of these skilled and clever artisians.
In light of this, I carefully studied and researched the various artforms produced by the Peoples of the Northeast, specifically that of my own ancestors, the Mi'Kmaq, a People whose traditional lands lie within Northeastern New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Canada.
Learning by doing, I taught myself applique' beadwork on both wool and leather. a graphic artist by nature, I studied, too, the painted designs and symbols done on leather by the Mi'kmaq, and tried my hand at bone carvings, and eventually progressed to quilling on birchbark.
Today, I produdly make and carry only those artforms and various crafts reflecting the culture and history of my People, and of those tribes of the northeast. Over the past few years, a kind of 'renaissance' has emerged: more artists than ever are doing splint-ash basketry, quilling, moose hair embroidery, wampum-shell jewelry, and many other crafts representative and unique to the First Nations of the Northeast. I am proud to say I am one of these artisians who have endeavored to bring these arts to light, and honored to be counted among those who strive to represent our ancestors, and to say not only, 'we're still here,' but, 'we always were.'"
"To use every part of an animal after it was slain for food was to honor its spirit, for its courage and swiftness, and for its selflessness in the giving up of its life, so humans could live. The moose was to the Mi'kmaq (Micmac), what the bison had been to the tribes of the Western Plains. From its nourishing meat to its warm hide, an adult moose could provide virtually all a Mi'kmaq family's needs. Even the bones were used to manufacture tools and weapons and carved into beads and sewing needles.
"Birds of prey were also revered by Native Americans and the First Nations everywhere. Raptors, such a Red Tail Hawks, were admired for their hunting skills. Fierce and courageous, Red Tails embodied the male warrior spirit as protector of territory and defender of the home."
The "quill insertion method," on a backing of birchbark, is one of four techniques of the art form known as "quilling," still in use by native New England artists today. Many hundreds of years old, the quilling of clothing, and everyday articles are both time-honored crafts, employing items once found in abundance in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada, the original territories of the Mi'kmaq (Micmac) people.
Sweetgrass, as aquatic plant growing wild in salt marshes, is another material used in Mi'kmaq crafts; woven into basket, sweetgrass is also burned as incense and used medicinally, traditionally brewed into a tea.
Monica Alexander's contact info: 413-269-7568
PO Box 261, East Otis, MA 01020
