painted-parsons treasure-island

Details of antique dresses from around 1850 showing porcupine quills and beadwork

Juanita is especially skilled at quillwork, which she characterizes as one of the first authentic Native art forms.

Quillwork has a deeply spiritual history: Legend has it that Blackfeet artists learn to quill in their dreams. The Dakota Sioux tell of an old lady making a quilled robe which, when finished, would signal the end of the world. As she sleeps each night, the dog at her feet tears out her day’s work. Each morning she must begin anew.

Quills must be pulled from a freshly killed porcupine, washed to remove the oil, and dyed using a combination of synthetic and natural coloring from wolf moss, bloodroot, and blackberries. “What takes so long is the sorting,” the artist explains. “The quills are all different sizes. I sort by size and color, a little at a time. It would take a month if I picked them all at once for a single piece.” She softens the quills in warm water and flattens them using her teeth, then attaches them to deer or moose hide with applique or zigzag stitches. Often her bags are finished with quills wrapped around slatted rawhide to create complex patterns.