We’d like to thank everyone who participated in our eight-month horse regalia workshop series, which concluded Aug. 25 with an evening gathering at Crow’s Shadow.
Several participants stopped by to show off the fruits of their labor in the form of colorful martingales, bridles and horse trappings, each of which required extensive pattern selection and design work, sewing and often hours of detailed beading.
“It’s been nice to see them work at it,” said John Bevis, who instructed the workshop series alongside his wife Katie Bevis. John said he looked forward to having more people teaching the skills to their family and friends. “Eventually, down the road, it enriches the tribe and the people.”
Class participant Jack Mills, with the help of his mother and other family members, managed to finish a martingale for each of his two young daughters. He said the first martingale already came in handy during this year’s festivities for the Umatilla tribes’ root feast. With the Pendleton Round-Up centennial on the horizon and future parades and beauty pageants, Jack said he looks forward to making the most of the new items.
“There’s a lot of use for these, not only the 100-year Round-Up. They won’t be hanging on the walls,” Jack said. “The work that we did up here really paid off.”
By the end of the project, at least eight class participants managed to complete at least one set of all three regalia items. Other participants, while not finished, said they hope to finish the items prior to Round-Up or as their free time allows.
“I work on it an hour or two in the evenings … whenever I can,” said Hoot Mesteth, who plans to sell his new regalia items. “I’m always looking to broaden my perspective on art.”
We hope everyone who participated found the experience to be an enjoyable and enriching one, and congratulate everyone for their individual accomplishments. As with all Crow’s Shadow programming, our goal is to provide educational, social, economic and otherwise meaningful opportunities through artistic development. As long as the interest remains, we look forward to continue serving as a venue for traditional native arts.
Those interested in taking part in future workshops are encouraged to check the website for upcoming opportunities and to let us know what kind of offerings they would like to see. In the meantime, please be sure to check out more pictures of this and other Crow’s Shadow workshops on our facebook.com page.
The regalia project was made possible, in part, thanks to funding from the Oregon Arts Commission, Wildhorse Foundation, Umatilla County Cultural Coalition, Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund and others.