Martha Berry is an award-winning Cherokee beader who dedicates
her time to doing research, creating beadwork inspired by her Cherokee
grandmothers, and teaching others to create and appreciate these
remarkable works.
At the age of five, Martha's mother and grandmother began
teaching her to use a needle and thread. By age nine, she was making
her own clothes, and at twenty, she was a seamstress for a touring ice
show.
Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Cherokee/Anglo
parents, Martha is a registered and very active tribal citizen of the
Cherokee Nation, though she currently resides in Texas with her
husband, Dave, who is a journalist.
When her children left for college, she began to study traditional Cherokee and Southeastern Woodlands beadwork in earnest.
"Cherokees ceased to produce these unique beadwork styles following the
Indian Removal, commonly known as the Trail of Tears," Berry says,
"Currently, there are only about a dozen beaders creating these
beautiful, old Southeastern style pieces, and only half of [those
artisans] are Native American."
—Credentials—
Cherokee Artists Association Full Member since 2006
Who's Who in American Women, 2004, 2005, 2006/2007
2000 Recipient: Native American Community Scholars Grant / Smithsonian Institute
1999 Delegate: Cherokee National Constitutional Convention / Tahlequah, OK
2001 Presenter: John F. Kennedy School of Government / Harvard University - Tribes Moving Forward
Lectures / Workshops:
2005 The Bead Museum / Glendale, AZ
2004 Cherokee Cultural Society of Houston / Houston, TX
2003 National Liberty Museum / Philadelphia, PA
2002-present: multiple SE Woodland Beadwork workshops: Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2001-present: multiple SE Woodland Beadwork workshops: Muscogee (Creek) Nation / Okmulgee, OK
Publications:
Berry, Martha 2003. 'Finding a lost art'
Bead & Button Dec. p 137-140
—Awards—
2008 Second Place, Cherokee Art Market
2007 Second Place, Cherokee Art Market
2006 Grand Prize, Cherokee Homecoming Art Show
2006 - 1st Place, Diverse Arts category / First Annual Cherokee Holiday Art Show / Tahlequah, OK
2005 - 1st Place, Beadwork / Cherokee Homecoming Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2005 - Honorable Mention, Cultural Items / Indian Fair & Market / Heard Museum / Phoenix, AZ
2004 - Grand Award, Best in Show / Cherokee Homecoming Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2003 - 2 Honorable Mentions, Textiles / Cherokee Homecoming Show / Cherokee Heritage Center
2003 - Best of Category, Beadwork / Trail of Tears Art Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2003 - 2nd Place, Textiles / Art Under the Oaks / Five Tribes Museum / Muskogee, OK
2002 - 1st Place, Beadwork / Cherokee Homecoming Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2002 - Best of Category, Beadwork / Trail of Tears Art Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2001 - 2nd Place, Beadwork / Cherokee Homecoming Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2001 - Special Merit Award / Trail of Tears Art Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2000 - 1st Place, Beadwork / Cherokee Homecoming Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
2000 - 3rd Place, Beadwork / Cherokee Homecoming Show / Cherokee Heritage Center / Tahlequah, OK
Lectures & Workshops
2007 Lecture and Workshop, Philbrook Art Museum, Tulsa, OK
Special Shows and Exhibits
2009 Spirit Red, Fred Jones, Jr. Museum of Art, Oklahoma University
2008 Beadwork Storytellers, A Visual Language, Cherokee Heritage Center, Co-curator and exhibitor
2007 Lost Arts, A Southeast Native American Art Show, Bill Shores Gallery, Chattanooga, TN
2007 Voices in the Tallgrass: Native Women Artists of Oklahoma, Pioneer Woman Museum, Ponca City, OK
