How Bethany Yellowtail elevates Native artists — and women — through fashion
by Laura Zornosa
Excerpt from the original story, “While she sells her beaded ochanku (“well-traveled road”) earrings on B.Yellowtail’s site, Collective artist Molina Parker also makes Tunwin or “auntie” earrings with her own aunt, Lorri Ann Two Bulls.
“I thought it would be really cool to try to collaborate in some way,” Parker said. “And that’s what I wanted to use. She’s my auntie, and she helped me. I wanted to do something that was significant in that way.”
Those Tunwin earrings feature hand-painted clay Lakota dancers with beaded tops. (Parker hails from the Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne Nations.) The duo created a pink Owicikapte Win (“Battle Survivor Woman”) pair to honor Parker’s grandmother, who died from breast cancer.
Matriarchs have always played a significant role in Parker’s life — she learned to bead from the women around her. Now, her 6-year-old daughter is learning to bead at the same age she did. They sit side by side, beading — and keeping tradition alive.”
