Delina White facts for kids

Delina White is a modern Native American artist. She is known for creating unique clothing that honors her heritage. Her designs are especially for the LGBTQ and Two-Spirit Native communities. She also works to protect the environment and support women's safety.

White is a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Early Life and Learning

Delina White was born in 1964 into the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She was given a special name that means "Wades in the water," because water is a symbol of life and healing in her culture.

She grew up in a small home without running water or electricity. Some of her best memories are from walking on old trails with her cousins. She also loved going to powwows, which are special Native American gatherings, and would dance in them as a young girl. Her mother made all her dancing outfits, including beautiful beadwork.

When White was only six years old, her grandmother, Maggie King, taught her how to do beadwork. This skill became an important part of her art later in life.

White attended Bemidji State University. It took her twenty years of hard work to earn her degree in Business Administration. She was the very first person in her family to go to college.

She has two daughters, Lavender Hunt and Sage Davis. Her daughters and her granddaughter, Snowy White, help her run her business.

A Career in Fashion

White started her own clothing brand called I Am Anishinaabe. She runs the company with her daughter Lavender and her granddaughter Snowy, who is also a model for the brand.

She has shown her designs in big fashion shows, like the Haute Couture Fashion Show in Santa Fe. She also works with other designers and helps them learn. In 2017, she held a workshop with designer Joy Campaigne for the American Indian Community and Housing Organization in Duluth, Minnesota.

Her first fashion show was the Great Lakes Woodland Skirts Fashion Show in 2015. During the show, she used her clothing, pictures, and her own voice to teach the audience about the history of traditional Native women's ribbon skirts. She explained that these skirts are a way to celebrate the culture and history of Native people.

White uses many different materials to create her art, including fabric, thread, and beads. She has won many awards for her work, which has been shown in places like the Art Institute of Minneapolis. She often mixes modern fabrics from all over the world with traditional materials like hand-tanned leather, bones, and shells.

In 2021, White had a show called Native Visions at FWMN (Fashion Week Minnesota). In 2023, her Northern Lights Anishinaabe Fashion Show returned to Minnesota.

The "I Am Anishinaabe" Collection

In 2015, White launched her "I Am Anishinaabe" collection. She was inspired by the Great Lakes and by the idea of Two-Spirits. The term Two-Spirit is used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe people who have a special, respected role in their communities that is not strictly male or female.

White created this clothing line to show support for LGBTQ+ people, especially those in Native American cultures. She wanted her clothing to help people feel proud of who they are.

She presented this collection at the Walker Art Center in 2019. The models she chose for the show were people who identified as Two-Spirit and queer. The collection includes fifteen unique skirts in the Great Lakes woodland style, as well as bags and moccasins.

One special piece in the collection is a skirt made by her daughter, Lavender. It has a traditional Ojibwe flower design. White said that the clothing is meant to make the person wearing it "happy, to feel good, to feel good about who they are, be confident and take pride in being a Two-Spirit."

Awards and Honors

Delina White has received many awards and grants for her artistic work. These include:

• 2019: Wings Arts Council Master Artist
• 2017: Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Mentor Fellowship
• 2015: Folk and Traditional Arts award from the MN State Arts Board
• 2015: Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Fellowship
• 2015: Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Technology / Equipment award
• 2014: Five Wings Arts Council Community Arts Leadership award
• 2014: Native American Culture Foundation
• 2010: Bush Foundation Fellowship

Exhibitions and Shows

White's art has been featured in many important shows, including:

• Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, a traveling exhibition that visited museums in Minneapolis, Nashville, Washington D.C., and Tulsa (2019–2020).
• A style show at “A Traditional Perspective in the Modern World" (2020, Northwest Indian Community Development Center).