Seminole patchwork, referred to by Seminole and Miccosukee women as Taweekaache (design in the Mikasuki language),[1] is a patchwork style made from piecing colorful strips of fabric in horizontal bands.[2] Seminole patchwork garments are often trimmed with a rickrack border. Early examples of this technique are known from photographs in the 1910s, and its use by Seminole women in garment construction began to flourish in the 1920s.[3] Seminole patchwork has historically been an important source of income for many Seminole women, and today remains a source of cultural pride.[3] Fashion designers, including Donna Karan, have been criticized for their appropriation of this patchwork style.[4]
Gallery
Seminole patchwork fringed dance shawl, ca. 1980s, by Susie Cypress (Seminole Tribe of Florida) from the Big Cypress Reservation, Florida
Ruby Jumper Billie: Big Cypress Reservation, Florida. Florida Memory, Set 72157633485327257, ID 8790883947, State Library and Archives of Florida.
Seminole patchwork, Museum of the American Indian - Heye Foundation (MAI), ~1960. Photographer: Carmelo Guadagno (Jimmy Guadagno)
Seminole patchwork jacket worn by
Iron Arrow Honor Society members, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.
References
- ^ "Patchwork". Florida Museum. 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ Downs, Dorothy (1995). Art of the Florida Seminole and Miccosukee Indians. University Press of Florida. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBNÂ 0-8130-1536-7. OCLCÂ 912815230.
- ^ a b "Seminole Clothing". Semtribe. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- ^ "Seminole Patchwork: Admiration And Appropriation". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-03-10.