Margaret Roach Wheeler facts for kids

Margaret Roach Wheeler, born in 1943, is a talented artist. She is a Chickasaw and Choctaw textile artist. She also designs Native American fashion. Margaret is known for studying old designs and weaving methods. These come from the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands. She uses these ideas in her beautiful woven clothes.

Her art is shown in many places. One important place is the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. She has also been a visiting artist there. In 2010, she joined the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame. The State of Oklahoma honored her in 2018 with the Governor's Arts Award. This was for her special art contributions. Margaret Wheeler also started a company called Mahota Textiles.

Early Life and Education

Margaret Roach was born in 1943 in South Dakota. Her parents were Rubey and Diamond Roach. Her Chickasaw mother grew up in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Margaret's great-grandmother, Nancy Mahota, walked the Trail of Tears. This was a long journey from her home in Mississippi.

Her Choctaw father worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). He was a teacher. Because of his job, her family moved often. They lived in many states like North Carolina, Arizona, and Montana. Margaret had two older siblings, Lawanda and Robert. Living among different tribes, Margaret learned a lot about various cultures. She loved painting from a young age. As a child, she watched her mother and grandmother. They used different fibers to knit, crochet, and sew.

When Margaret was in high school, her family lived in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. After finishing high school, she married Glen Wheeler in 1960. They had two children, Kristine and Wade. Like her father, Glen was a teacher for the BIA. The family first lived on the Navajo Nation. Then they moved to Joplin, Missouri.

Margaret decided to go to college. She wanted to teach sculpture. She studied at Missouri Southern State College in Joplin. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1975.

Teaching Career

After college, Margaret Roach Wheeler started teaching. From 1975 to 1984, she taught at Parkwood High School. She taught many subjects. These included batik, jewelry design, and weaving.

While teaching, she also studied for her master's degree. She went to Pittsburg State University. In 1978, she earned a master's degree in fiber arts. Her teacher, Marjorie Schick, inspired her. Margaret started using textiles to create wall art. Later, she began designing fashion. She wove her own dress for an art show. Soon, she was weaving clothes with Native American designs. These designs often looked like buckskin or fabric with beadwork.

Art and Design Work

In 1981, Margaret decided to start her own business. She named it Mahota Handwovens. This name honored her great-great-grandmother. She left her teaching job to focus on her art.

Margaret talked to museums that showed Indigenous art. The Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa asked her to design 20 outfits. These were for a fashion show. Margaret combines her art training with classic weaving skills. She makes clothes that are "an expressive cultural art form."

Margaret sees clothing as art that you can wear. She believes the body is like a canvas for art. Because she grew up among many Indigenous groups, her woven items mix designs from different Native cultures.

Researching Old Techniques

Margaret is very interested in history. She studies museum collections and old artifacts. She looks for weaving methods used long ago. She also explores different materials. These include hides, feathers, and beadwork. She adds these ideas to her woven fabrics. She uses natural fibers. She doesn't use real beads or feathers. Instead, she weaves fibers to make them look like other materials.

Her amazing work has won many awards. She won awards at the Santa Fe Market. In 2000, she received a Smithsonian Fellowship. She was a visiting artist at the National Museum of the American Indian. She has also taught at Southwest Missouri State University. She gives talks at universities about textile arts.

Costume Design and Workshops

In 2009, Margaret started designing costumes. She worked on a show called Lowak Shoppala (Fire and Light). This show celebrated Chickasaw culture. It included dancers, singers, and an orchestra.

Margaret Wheeler has shown her art around the world. She also teaches weaving workshops. She has taught in the United States and England. In 2010, she taught courses in Devon and Reading, England.

Exhibitions and Shows

Margaret Wheeler's art has been shown in many places. In 1985, she exhibited at the Gilcrease Museum. She also took part in the Red Earth Festival fashion show in 1986 and 1987. In 1986, her work was in the Talking Threads: Contemporary Native American Fashions show. This was at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe.

In 1988, she joined the Handweavers Guild of America international fashion show. This show is called Convergence. It happens every two years. It teaches weaving techniques and ends with a judged show. Margaret was the only Native American artist in the show. Her work was chosen for the fashion show. She continued to participate in this event through the late 1990s. She also started showing her work at the Santa Fe Indian Market.

Margaret has been part of group shows at many museums. These include the Heard Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian. She was also one of four Native American fashion designers chosen to speak about textile arts. This was during the Native Fashion Now exhibition in New York.

Awards and Honors

Margaret Roach Wheeler has received many awards. In 2009, she won Best of Class in weaving and textiles. This was at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market. She also won first place in the 3-D division. This was at the Southeastern Art Show and Market (SEASAM) in 2008 and 2010. The Chickasaw Nation hosts this competition.

In 2010, she was inducted into the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame. In 2018, she received a Governor's Arts Award from Oklahoma. This was for her special contributions to the arts. In 2020, she received the Chickasaw Nation Dynamic Woman of the Year award. This award honors Chickasaw women who have achieved great things. It also recognizes those who help keep Chickasaw culture alive.