The Red Hands blanket is the first in a body of work by Beth Juneau, an enrolled member of the Chippewa Cree tribe who was born and raised in Browning on the Blackfeet Reservation.

Indigenous people have walked the land that we call Montana since the beginning of time.  The Blackfeet territory was the whole of Montana into the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Today, Montana is home to 12 Federally recognized tribes, the Blackfeet, Chippewa Cree, Northern Cheyenne, Salish, Pend d’Orielle, Kootenai, Assiniboine Sioux, Gros Ventre Assiniboine, Crow, and Little Shell Chippewa.  Each of these tribes now residing across Montana and the 7 Reservations after being displaced from their ancestral homelands.   

All tribes have their own unique culture, traditions and language making them distinct from one another.  However, what the tribes of Montana have in common is the fact that they were traditionally hunter gatherers and nomadic.  Camps were moved frequently, not aimlessly but with intention.  

Game was followed, each knowing where the herds were the most plentiful.  Plants, roots, and berries were collected, being harvested when they were in season, picked to be used for food, medicine and ceremony.  Moving on to where the best lodge poles grew.  Never staying in the same areas for long so as not to deplete the resources they depended on.

Each individual was able to recognize every detail of their ancestral homelands.  Knowing where the best shelter was for a winter camp, always along a river, with trees and access to water.  Recognizing the sacred places, where one could refresh their soul.  Looking forward to arriving at the gathering places, sharing food, songs, stories and laughter with family and friends.

Over time, everything changes, people evolve, whether by choice or force.  I am finding the one thing that remains the same, is self-expression and the need to create.  Our people used quillwork and beadwork to adorn clothing and moccasins.  Lodges, sacred objects, even everyday items were painted  using patterns and designs found in nature.  Patterns and designs that are so specific to each individual tribe that they are recognized by it, even today.  The Blackfeet’s use of geometric patterns and the floral patterns used by the Cree are wonderful examples of this.  

Our ancestors created extraordinary works of art and passed that ability down the generations.  It is my hope that those of us who were blessed with the ability to create art use it in a way to help our people and all people.  Using our gifts as artists as a way to educate and bring true and correct history to life.  To show our resilience as a people, thereby creating a legacy for future generations to be proud of and continue.  

Pairs Well With:

“Fools Crow” (James Welch), “Ceremony” (Leslie Marmon Silko), “Counting Coup” (Larry Colton), “Braiding Sweetgrass” (Robin Wall Kimmerer)