Arapaho & Eastern Shoshone Artists

The artists who sell their work at Ancient Ways learned their craft from their mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and grandparents. For the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe people, these crafts represented a traditional way of life. Children learned to bead like they learned how to cook or hunt. Art was just one of the many skills mastered by a growing child.

Today few Native Americans make their own clothes, bags, jewelry or drums, but those that do carry on a tradition that has been passed down through families for generations. The Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapahoe are particularly well known for their beadwork and many of the artists whose work is on display at Ancient Ways were taught how to bead at a young age. The patterns they create - multicolored tipis, stylized mountains, beaded feather patterns, even buffalo trails - are patterns that have their roots in ancient traditions. Beadwork was used to tell stories and many of the symbols incorporated into the designs have meaning for the tribes, such as a cross within a circle symbolizes the four directions and the cycle of life.

These age-old designs are still used by artists, however, the traditions are changing and today's beaders adapt the traditional patterns to their own styles with a liveliness and creativity that illustrates how vital the craft remains for the people who practice it. Even the classic styles are blurring. Historically, the Eastern Shoshone's beadwork was associated with flowers while the Northern Arapahoe used abstract geometric patterns. This is no longer as clearly defined as both tribes borrow ideas from each other to come up with a vision that is rooted in the past but colored by the present.

Other crafts on sale at Ancient Ways have also grown out of the tribes' history. The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe were a highly mobile people. To carry their belongings, they created bags and cases of various sizes and shapes out of buckskin and rawhide. These items were highly utilitarian in design, but they were also decorated with care and purpose by their owners. Today, artisans on the Wind River Indian Reservation create bags and cases based on these uses but adapted for use in the modern world. A pipe bag becomes a purse while a parfleche container can be used as a jewelry box or to hold stationary.

Gary and Cathy Keene, owners of Ancient Ways, take great pride in ensuring the quality of the work they carry. They do this by working closely with the artists. The bags, cases, beadwork and drums for sale at Ancient Ways haven't been made anonymously at some factory. They are made by the Keene's neighbors and relatives. They come ladened with stories, traditions and care that make them each unique.