Leith Mahkewa (Oneida/Hopi/Tewa) did not grow up doing beadwork. “My grandmother quilted, and we would do some handicraft type things, but I wasn’t really doing beadwork,” she says. That changed when she was in college and her mother opened a bead shop.
Supporting Each Other and Creation, black cotton velvet with a cotton calico lining, glass seed beads ranging in size from 13-22, some vintage, precious stones and 24k gold beads, 6”
“I would come home over the weekends and on holidays and go to the shop,” she says. There were always women there, working on beadwork projects, and Mahkewa learned the tricks of the trade from them. She says, “I wasn’t necessarily trying to be a great beadworker at the time. But it was something that I could do with my mother and I had become friends with all of these ladies.”Mahkewa’s first major beadwork project was her own wedding regalia, and in 2012 she was asked to create an outfit for a graduation ceremony. These large pieces pushed her to start discovering her own artistic style.
Family Heirloom, cradleboard wrap, brain-tanned and smoked deerhide, various size glass beads, 6 x 13”
“The majority of the pieces I make are wearable art,” she says. “I really gravitate to functional pieces. I love seeing people wearing the pieces I’ve made when I go to a ceremony or a graduation or some other milestone celebration.”
Brothers, pair of moccasins, smoked deerhide, black calico velvet, various size glass antique beads
Last year, Makhewa was awarded first place in the moccasins category at Santa Fe Indian Market. “A lot of times, I’m making pieces for other people, but when I go to markets, I always try to do something for myself,” she says. “Often times, moccasins are very similar, but when you look at a pair, you can see that they are very different.” While some of the same colors are used on both sides, they don’t have the same imagery.
At the Water’s Edge, satin velveteen, satin ribbon, various size glass antique beads, 8 x 6”
She was inspired by the creation story that tells of a woman who falls from the sky and gives birth to a daughter. “Then, the daughter becomes pregnant with twins, who we believe created the beings on earth and everything in creation,” she says. “So the moccasins, they aren’t the same, but they are like brothers.”Over the years, Mahkewa’s style has evolved. Her early works were extremely colorful. “That first graduation outfit I created had something like 32 colors in it. Red, green, just all over the place,” she describes. Now, she tends to work in a more limited palette. “I find keeping things in the same color family to be a little more challenging, and it’s a way to stretch myself.”
Saucy, silk ribbon, satin velveteen, various size glass antique beads
In addition to her beadwork, over the last few years, Mahkewa has become involved in the language revitalization movement for Kanien’keha, a Mohawk language, and she works as a language coach in a community school. “I’m a second language learner. It’s not my language, but it’s my children’s language and it’s my husband’s language,” she says. “Right now I feel myself at a crossroads, because my passion is beadwork, but I also feel so strongly about the revitalization movement.”Both are time-intensive tasks. Beadwork is a personal undertaking and she typically does it while she’s alone. Language revitalization is a community effort. “You have to surround yourself with people and become involved because that’s where the language is.”
Global Opulence, 24k plated gold beads, crystal glass beads, silk velveteen, smoked deerhide
Mahkewa’s pieces have recently been seen being carried by models on the runway at New York Fashion Week and being worn by Jana Schmieding on “Rutherford Falls”, but the project that is currently fueling her creativity is her daughter’s graduation regalia. She says, “I thought she would want something basic, but of course, she wants the whole kit and caboodle!”
She also cohosts the monthly podcast “The Beading Table” with fellow beadworker, Haudenosaunee artist Margaret Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup, on which they talk about subjects like balancing family and beading and the difference between being inspired by a work and copying.
See More www.leithmahkewa.com | Instagram: @leithmahkewa
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