Miridith Campbell

PROJECT STATEMENT

The Kiowa have always been known as a warrior people. Much of the tribal traditions, honors and ceremonies center on feats of bravery, of sacrifice. In turn, the people give them accolades through many forms of dance, prayers, gifts and bestowing honors of reverence.

Since the mid-1990s, my work has been reflective of my desire to preserve traditional and cultural ties with the history of the Kiowa people. It is a beautiful traditional medium of beads and buckskin and metal.

In the way of the Kiowa, the regalia and accouterments are such a symbolic way of displaying personal accomplishments and earned awards. Family members also take up the honors for loved ones and publicly give remembrance to them through ceremonials.

However, the dichotomy to this history is that it is brutal. I wrestle with the romanticism of war and the beauty of the warrior and his ensemble.

As a veteran myself, these tribal histories are very important to me. It is for the sense of belonging, of recognition and the meaning of these sacrifices and what they mean to the people as a community.

ABOUT MIRIDITH

Born into a military family, I enlisted in the Marine Corps while still a senior in High School. With an honorable discharge, I went to college for two years in Washington State and reenlisted with the U.S. Army as a Paratrooper. I spent 2 years overseas, returned stateside and went back to school. I later finished my military service as a Navy SeaBee.

I began my interest in this particular form of artwork and expression with beads. I was fascinated by the thousands upon thousands of tiny beads to create such intricate and labor-intensive creations. I visited museums, studied books and images to teach myself what set apart Kiowa work from other tribes. Everything from color, to design, to the aesthetic and practicality of a piece is thought over and produced with sometimes hundreds of hours of work in one item.

I see these creations as a way of understanding and giving a living history to my children, my family. I want to preserve the “old way” of making and beautifying daily objects for them to enjoy and use. In turn, they would be able to hold a tangible part of their cultural history.