REBECCA WHITE YOUNGBLOOD

When I read the call for submissions, I immediately thought of a traditional Eastern Woodlands-style bandolier bag. The symbols and decorations on the outside have imbued it with the spiritual tools (wisdom and teachings) of the past to carry both our traditional tools (sage, sweetgrass, cedar, a drumstick, a hide scraper, an arrow) and the tools we have today (technology, etc). 

The artwork is made of leather, with glass beads, stone and shell decorations. The beadwork features a symbolic heart with a thick black shell around it, still beating red inside, still being fed by Mother Earth; the 4 sacred directions; the salmon, buffalo, corn, beans, squash (traditional foods); the sun, moon and stars; the eagle, who carries our prayers to the Creator; etc.