This summer the Mashantucket Gallery presents an extraordinary exhibit, North by Northeast: Wabanaki, Akwesasne Mohawk, and Tuscarora Traditional Arts. For generations, Native American traditional artists in the Northeast have passed on their culture through beadwork, basketry, canoe making, and wood carving. The exhibit explores the art and words of 25 artists living and working primarily in Maine and New York. The pieces show their connection to place, tradition, and cultural identity and are a tribute to the resourcefulness and creativity of contemporary practicing artists from the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Wabanaki tribes. The exhibit features a beautiful range of beadwork, basketry, birch bark work, and woodcarving, including several items selected from the Mashantucket Pequot Museum’s traditional arts collection. A 120-page color catalogue written by exhibit curator Kathleen Mundell with contributions from traditional artists and Native scholars Salli Benedict (Mohawk), Sue Ellen Herne (Mohawk), Theresa Secord (Penobscot), and folklorist Lynne Williamson (Mohawk heritage) is available in the Museum gift shop. The exhibit opens at 11 am on June 26. Free with Museum admission, free to Museum members.
