Sandra Hale Schulman
ICT
The latest: Patchwork and coats, Designers take on mocs, Peltier gets a visit
ART: Seminole art and culture in Miami
Art and history – past and present – intersect in Yakne Seminoli, a vibrant exhibition in partnership with Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum at History Miami Museum.
Roughly translated as “Seminole World,” the title reflects the idea of “all our traditions coming together.” The Seminole people have a history of adapting, surviving and thriving, despite irreversible changes in lifestyle, government and environment. They have also helped shape the Florida we know today.
This exhibit will showcase an impressive number of Seminole artists and a diverse collection of art, revealing how these artists bring that history and culture to life. Visitors can experience how diversity brings a community together and learn how the unconquered Seminole Tribe’s history is Florida’s history.
Over 25 Seminole artists will be represented in the exhibit, including: Jimmy John Osceola, Brian Zepeda, Erica Deitz, Wilson Bowers, Elgin Jumper, Virginia Osceola, Gordon Oliver Wareham, Jojo Osceola, and Bobby Henry.
“I am extremely honored to have my traditional Seminole Coats on display for the first time in an exhibit,” Zepeda told ICT. “I hope people appreciate my attention to details as some of them are completely hand stitched and some are done by sewing machine. I am very particular in what fabrics I use as I feel they must look and feel like the coats made 200 years ago.”
The show opens on October 18 to experience the intersection of art and history with live music, tasty samples, craft activities for kids, and a first look at the powerful works of Seminole artists. This free, family friendly event celebrates Seminole traditions of resilience, creativity and community.
STYLE: Modern mukluks
Each year, Manitobah partners with world-class Indigenous artists to design its footwear as a canvas for cultural expression. The 2025 Fall Seasonal Artist collaborations launch its new limited edition Crystal Series. Featured on the brand’s most loved mukluks, winter boots, slippers and moccasins, these designs transform everyday footwear into wearable works of art that highlight Indigenous creativity and storytelling.
This year’s artists include Lauren Good Day, an Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet, and Plains Cree artist and fashion designer and an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes. A multi-award-winning creator, her work has been featured in Vogue and The New York Times and showcased at leading Native art markets. She blends beadwork, quillwork, ledger art, and fashion, celebrating heritage and pride in identity.
Jamie Okuma, an enrolled member of the La Jolla Band of Indians, is a celebrated Luiseno, Shoshone-Bannock, Wailaki and Okinawan artist based in southern California. Her work spans one-of-a-kind beadwork to ready-to-wear fashion, has been exhibited internationally and at the Met, Smithsonian and Denver Art Museum. In 2023, she became the first Native American inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
“We are honored to collaborate with these talented artists whose work reflects both tradition and innovation. By featuring their art on our footwear, we create meaningful opportunities for Indigenous voices and stories to be celebrated and shared,” said Carolyn MacNaughton, CEO of Manitobah. “As a company rooted in Indigenous culture, our vision is to build a vibrant global brand that makes positive impacts in Indigenous communities and this collection is a powerful reflection of the creativity and cultural expression of the artists we are privileged to work with.”
Other artists include Heather Dickson, Inland Tlingit & Tagish, whose designs shimmer with real glass crystals, blending seaweed motifs. Arianna Lauren, a Coast Salish artist from the Cowichan Tribes, a hand-poked tattoo practitioner and plant medicine keeper, her work honors Quw’utsun’ identity by blending ancestral teachings with contemporary design. Kwakwaka’wakw artist Jamie Gentry is best known for moccasin making. Anishinaabe fashion designer Ocean Kiana, Waabski Memegwans (White Butterfly), is from Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and Pic Mobert First Nations in Ontario. Through her brand, she creates modern Indigenous apparel that blends traditional floral motifs with contemporary style.
MUSIC: From prison to private concert
Freed Leonard Peltier had a special private concert in his back yard recently from the newly dubbed Fabulous Fry Bread Brothers band, which played songs from each of their catalogues. Grammy nominated musician and 2022 NAMA Award-winner Aaron White posted on social media:
“What an amazing time we had playing for Leonard Peltier and friends. John Densmore (drummer for The Doors), myself, and Keith Secola (award-winning musician and producer) traveled to the Turtle Mountain Reservation this past week to do a performance for Leonard Peltier. We spent a few days sharing music, stories and experiences with this Brother who needed Musical Medicine,” White said.
“We did just that with no amplification, just our instruments and our love for the music to help soothe the body, mind and spirit of a man who was unjustly imprisoned by the federal government,” White said. “Thanks to Preston Randolph and the Turtle Mountain Tribe for allowing us to play for you all in the North Country. It was a good time playing with my brothers from another mother Keith and John D. The Fabulous Fry Bread Brothers on another musical journey.”