Katrina Mitten

Katrina Mitten (born March 21, 1962 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is a Native American artist. She is enrolled in the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.

Mitten is beadwork artist, whose embroidery style of beadwork has earned her numerous awards and has been featured in major metropolitan museums, such as the Eiteljorg and Heard Museum.

Biography

Mitten is a descendant of one of the five Miami families who were allowed to stay after the establishment of the Indian Removal Act by Andrew Jackson. This act allowed him to relocate access to relocate Native people from their ancestral homelands. Those who were not relocated were encouraged to assimilate into Westernized civilization. Instead, they tried to pass on as much of their culture as possible

At the age of twelve, Mitten learned beading from her grandmother Josephine.[1] Josephine influenced a large portion of Mitten's works, including her 1950s handbag, which she has stated represents her family heritage. Mitten made this handbag collaborating with her granddaughter Saiyer Miller and teaching her using the same methods as her grandmother.

Mitten also learned more about her tribe by visiting museums and studying her families' heirlooms.[2] She is active on the powwow circuit.

She has created utilitarian works, such as The Cradle Board, as well as necklaces, bracelets, and beaded handbags. Other influences in her art include the geometric designs found in ribbonwork and the floral patterns depicted throughout the Great Lakes tribal beadwork.[3][4] She incorporates personal and family stories into her art pieces and uses her art as a means of story telling.[4]

In 2016 Mitten collaborated with Native American artists Katy Strass and Angela Ellsworth to create a painting of the states on a fiberglass statue of a bison.[5]

Select artworks
  • Cradle Board[6]
  • "I have been waiting for you" outfit[7]
  • 1950's Handbag[4]
  • 1940s-styled bag[8]

Exhibitions

Collections

Mitten's artwork is held in the permanent collections of:

Honors and awards
  • Museum Purchase Award and Best of Division, Beadwork, 2007
  • Best of Show, 2008 Indigenous People's Art Market, Mt Pleasant, MI
  • Museum Purchase Award, 2010 Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival, Indianapolis, IN
  • 1st Place, Beadwork 2011, Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival, Indianapolis, IN
  • 2nd Place, Beadwork 2011, SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM
  • 2nd Place, Cultural 2011, Judge's Choice Cherokee Indian Market Catoosa, OK
  • 3rd Place, Cultural 2012 and Judge's Choice, Cherokee Art Market, Catoosa, OK
  • 2nd and 3rd Place, Beadwork 2012 Eiteljorg Festival, Indianapolis, IN
  • Honorable Mention, Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair & Market 2015 Phoenix, AZ
  • "Roots" - 1st Place Beadwork Wearables, Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival, 2015, Indianapolis, IN
  • 3rd Place Cherokee Art Market 2017 Catoosa, OK
  • 2nd Place, Third Place Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian Western Arts Indian Market and Festival 2016, Indianapolis, IN
  • 1st Place-Beadwork Accessories Best of Division-Beadwork, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Indian Market and Festival 2017, Indianapolis, IN
  • Bernard Ewell Innovation Award for "This my Mother Told Me" and also 2nd Place Diversified, SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market 2017, Santa Fe, NM
  • Best of Division- Diverse Art Form - Contemporary "This My Mother Told Me" Cherokee Art Market 2017, Catoosa, OK[7]

References
  1. Brackney, Susan. "The Maker: Beaded Embroidered bags". Indianapolis Monthly.
  2. "Eitelijorg's Indian Market and Festival draws artists from across U.S. and Canada".
  3. Edge, Sami. "Native Art Market 2014: Katrina Mitten". Santa Fe New Mexican.
  4. Indiana folk arts: 200 years of tradition and innovation. Kay, Jon., Traditional Arts Indiana., William Hammond Mathers Museum (Bloomington, Ind.). [Indiana]. ISBN 978-0-692-72355-5. OCLC 960881753.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Sandlin, Rebecca. "Three Local Lending Talents to State's 'Bison-Tennial'". The Huntington Country TAB.
  6. "Native American Cradleboards".
  7. "Katrina Mitten".
  8. Williams, Janet. "Eiteljorg's Indian Market and Festival draws artists from across U.S. and Canada".
  9. "Native Art Market 2014: Katrina Mitten". Smithsonian.
  10. Article, Staffs. "Myaamia Heritage Museum & Archive Features Myaamia Artists" (PDF).
  11. Edge, Sami. "A masterpiece 760 hours in the making".
  12. "Meet Artist In Residence: Katrina Mitten (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma)". Eiteljorg Museum.
  13. "Catfish bag". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
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