| There are so many moments to love in Jennifer Jordan's stories about how she learned the unique Haudenosaunee style of raised beadwork - a traditional art of which she is now a master. She made the audience chuckle when, on stage at our Tradition Bearers, Live! event, she talked about what it is like to visit her beloved beading mentor these days. She and Miss Betty Willems always drink coffee and eat snacky foods, she said, when they plan to bead together -- and maybe one or two beads get beaded!
Jennifer's stories about the passing on of the Haudensaunee beading tradition are stories of the relationships -- not to mention sore fingers and endless hours -- that are a crucial part of the work of cultural survival. Just as Jennifer asked Miss Betty to be her beading mentor, so Sadie Wilson asked Jennifer. It was Sadie who took the photo of Jennifer, above, at a beading workshop that was part of the Wisconsin By the People project this summer -- a workshop that Sadie gained the knowledge to lead.
Even if you missed Jennifer at Tradition Bearers, Live!, you still can hear her stories! This week we released a special episode of Human Powered podcast featuring Jennifer's conversation with folklorist Chrissy Widmayer. Chrissy taught workshops for Jennifer, Sadie, and other master and apprentice traditional and folk artists to help them share their stories with the broader public, thanks to our partners at the Wisconsin Arts Board. I hope you'll listen.
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