On Quahog, Wampum, and Community Care
About this episode
Sayokla Kindness discusses her journey as a bead and wampum artist, exploring the intersection of ancestral knowledge and contemporary Indigenous art.
Sayokla Kindness is an internationally recognized, award-winning multi-disciplinary bead and wampum artist from the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Turtle Clan, whose work has been exhibited and celebrated for its extraordinary beauty, technical mastery, and cultural depth. Rooted in Haudenosaunee teachings, her practice bridges ancestral knowledge and contemporary Indigenous art in ways that are unmistakably her own. In this conversation, Sayokla shares the winding path that brought her home. We talk about her journey as an artist, the responsibilities of carrying cultural knowledge, and the profound teachings embedded within her work. One powerful story (among so many) after recently harvesting quahog shells with a mentor, then attempting to make dozens of wampum beads, only fourteen were successful. Rather than seeing those failed attempts as setbacks, she speaks with deep gratitude for the fourteen that survived. Today, she is a Haudenosaunee woman who can recite the Thanksgiving Address, while holding wampum beads that she strung herself. Sayokla's work demonstrates that artistic excellence and ancestral knowledge are entangled pursuits. Whether exhibiting internationally or…
People in this episode
Host: Kahstoserakwathe
Guest: Sayokla Kindness
Topics covered
- Indigenous art
- cultural knowledge
- community care
- Haudenosaunee teachings
- wampum
Keywords
- wampum
- Indigenous art
- cultural depth
- Haudenosaunee
- community care
- quahog shells
- artistic excellence
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
Books & works: Thanksgiving Address
Places: Turtle Clan
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