List of Native American women artists facts for kids

This article is about amazing Native American and First Nations women artists from the U.S. and Canada. These talented women create beautiful art, from baskets and pottery to paintings and sculptures. They share their culture and stories through their incredible work.

Basket Weavers: Weaving Stories

• Primrose Adams (born 1926) is known for her special baskets made from spruce roots.
• Linda Aguilar (born 1946) is a Chumash basket maker. She uses both traditional and new materials in her art.
• Elsie Allen (1899–1990) was a Pomo basket weaver. She kept ancient weaving traditions alive.
• Annie Antone (born 1955) is a Tohono O'odham basket weaver from Arizona.
• Carrie Bethel (1898–1974) was a Kucadikadi (Northern Paiute) basket maker.
• Yvonne Walker Keshick (born 1946) is an Anishinaabe artist. She makes beautiful quill art and baskets.
• Mabel McKay (born 1907) was a Pomo, Wintu, and Patwin basket weaver.

Beadwork Artists: Tiny Treasures

• Nellie Two Bear Gates (1854–1935) was a Dakota artist. Her beadwork showed the history and culture of her people.
• Sarah Ortegon HighWalking is an Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho artist.
• Emily Waheneka (born 1919) was a Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute artist. She was known for her beadwork and sewn pieces.

Ceramic Artists: Shaping Clay

• Mrs. Ramos Aguilar was a potter from Santo Domingo Pueblo (now Kewa Pueblo), New Mexico.
• Daisy Hooee was a Hopi-Tewa potter. She helped keep old pottery methods alive.
• Tammy Garcia is a Santa Clara Pueblo sculptor and ceramic artist.
• Lucy M. Lewis (1890s–1992) was a famous Pueblo potter.
• Maria Martinez (born 1886) was a San Ildefonso Pueblo potter. She was known for her black-on-black pottery.
• Nora Naranjo-Morse (born 1953) is a Santa Clara Pueblo potter.
• Ida Sahmie (born 1960) is a Navajo ceramic artist. She mixes Hopi pottery styles with Navajo designs.
• Margaret Tafoya (1904–2001) was a Tewa artist. She was famous for her traditional pottery.
• Sara Fina Tafoya (1863–1949) was a Kha'po Owingeh (Santa Clara Pueblo) artist.

Drawing and Printmaking: Pictures and Patterns

• Ruth Annaqtuusi Tulurialik (born 1934) is a Canadian Inuit artist from Baker Lake, Nunavut.
• Annie Pootoogook (1969–2016) was an Inuk artist from Cape Dorset, Canada. She was known for her drawings and prints.
• Irene Avaalaaqiaq Tiktaalaaq (born 1941) is famous for her drawings, prints, and wall hangings.
• Pitseolak Ashoona (circa 1904–1983) was an Inuk artist. She was a printmaker and also did sewing and embroidery.
• Jane Ash Poitras (born 1951) is a Cree artist. She creates prints, mixed-media collages, and writes.
• Jean LaMarr (born 1945) is a Pit River and Paiute artist. She is known for her printmaking.
• Melanie Yazzie (born 1966) is a Navajo artist. She specializes in printmaking.

Installation Art: Art in Space

Charlene Teters speaking in 2011

• Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (born 1940) is a Salish, Cree, and Shoshone artist. Her work includes large art installations.
• Tanis Maria S'eiltin (born 1951) is a Tlingit artist. She creates installation art, paintings, prints, and sculptures.
• Charlene Teters (born 1952) is a Spokane artist. She is known for her installation art, paintings, and activism.

Jewelry Artists: Wearable Art

• Denise Wallace (born 1957) is a Sugpiaq (Eskimo) jeweler. She creates unique movable jewelry from gold, silver, and other materials.

Mixed Media Artists: Combining Materials

• Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie (born 1954) is a Seminole, Creek, and Navajo artist. She uses many different materials in her art.
• Gail Tremblay (born 1945) is an Onondaga and Micmac artist. She works with various media.
• Sara Bates (born 1944) is a Cherokee artist. She creates mixed media sculptures and paintings.

Painting Artists: Colors and Canvases

Tonita Peña, a talented painter

• Pop Chalee (born 1906) was a painter, muralist, and performer. Her name means "Blue Flower."
• Sharron Ahtone Harjo (born 1945) is a Kiowa painter from Oklahoma.
• Helen Hardin (born 1943) was a Santa Clara Pueblo painter and printmaker. Her name means "Little Standing Spruce."
• Georgia Mills Jessup (1926–2016) was a painter, sculptor, and muralist. She was of African-American and Pamunkey descent.
• Mary Longman (born 1964) is a Salteaux artist from the Gordon First Nation. She creates paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
• Tonita Peña (born 1893) was a San Ildefonso Pueblo painter and muralist.
• Pablita Velarde (born 1918) was a Santa Clara Pueblo painter and illustrator. Her name means "Golden Dawn."
• Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (born 1940) is also known for her paintings.
• Kay WalkingStick (born 1935) is a Cherokee painter.
• Emmi Whitehorse (born 1956–1957) is a Navajo painter.

Performing Artists: Stage and Screen

• Rebecca Belmore (born 1960) is an Ojibwe performance artist. Her work has been shown all over the world.
• Lisa Mayo, Gloria Miguel, and Muriel Miguel are Kuna and Rappahanonock-Powhatan artists. They are part of the "Spiderwoman Theater Company."
• Malinda M. Maynor is a Lumbee artist. She is known for her award-winning documentary films.

Photography Artists: Capturing Moments

Linda Lomahaftewa in 2009

• Carmelita Little Turtle (born 1952) is an Apache and Tarahumara photographer.
• Linda Lomahaftewa (born 1947) is a Hopi-Choctaw photographer.
• Jolene Rickard (born 1956) is a Tuscarora photographer.
• Phoebe Farris (born 1952) is a Powhatan-Renape photographer.
• Shelley Niro (born 1954) is a Mohawk photographer.

Sculpture Artists: Three-Dimensional Art

Kenojuak Ashevak in 1997

• Kenojuak Ashevak (1927–2013) was an Inuit artist from Kinngait. She was famous for her soapstone carvings, drawings, and prints.
• Lillian Pitt (born 1943) is a Warm Springs, Yakima, and Wasco artist. She creates masks and bronze sculptures.
• Roxanne Swentzell (born 1992) is a Santa Clara Pueblo artist. She is known for her ceramic sculptures.

Textile Artists: Fabric Creations

• Mary Kawennatakie Adams (1917–1999) was a Mohawk First Nations textile artist and basket maker.
• Elizabeth Angrnaqquaq (1916–2003) was an innovative Canadian Inuk textile artist.
• Jennie Thlunaut (1892–1986) was a Tlingit Chilkat weaver.
• Gwen Westerman is a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Oyate artist. She is a writer, poet, and fiber artist.

Woodcarvers: Art from Wood

• Kathleen Carlo-Kendall is a Koyukon woodcarver.
• Freda Diesing (1925–2002) was a Haida woodcarver.
• Rose Powhatan (born 1948) is a Pamunkey artist. She creates wood totems and silkscreen prints.

See also

Sources