Reba Jo Teran (Eastern Shoshone)
Traditional Shoshone Saddle Maker & Bead Worker
Eastern Shoshone
Fort Washakie, WY
“All my adult life I have focused on personal goals that would encourage the youth to be proud of their heritage and to promote cultural knowledge. It is through my efforts that I hope that the young children learn and carry on the traditional ways of my People. That is my hope. With this thought, I leave you to envision the future. ”
Reba Jo Teran
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Old time floral design Beaded Leggings and moccasins. Photo courtesy the artist.
Eastern Shoshone Parade Saddle. Photo courtesy the artist.
Over the past 20 years, Teran has recorded 20,291 Shoshone words, as well as 2,000 Shoshone phrases. Luce Fellowship.
of 7
We are human in the eyes of our Creator – not perfect
Reba Jo Teran is a Native American artist specializing in beadwork and saddle making. She is a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of Wyoming and comes from a large family of 11 children. Her older sister, Beatrice taught her how to do beadwork when Reba was eleven years old. Soon she made items that were good enough to be sold to help buy food for the household.
When Reba was 13, she made her first beaded buckle. Her sister taught her some important rules based on traditional Shoshone ways. Rule 1: Native Americans are not “perfect” and if she made a mistake, that she was to leave it as it was. This is the Native way of acknowledging that we are human in the eyes of our Creator – not perfect. Rule 2: To give away their first beadwork item to someone, because it is the traditional way of giving.
Doing beadwork has always been a part of her life, beginning with the need to help put food on the table and then in later life, for the enjoyment and relaxation. She has been doing beadwork for 58 years and some folks consider her to be an expert bead worker.
During the 1980’s she became interested in the old time floral designs, which she saw in some historical Shoshone photographs. She began to collect books on floral beadwork and began making her own design sketches. She also studied the color schemes of old time beadwork and the kinds of beads they used.
What does the Taproot Fellowship mean to you and how will it affect your practice?
Reba Jo Teran is a Native American artist specializing in beadwork and saddle making. She is a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of Wyoming and comes from a large family of 11 children. Her older sister, Beatrice taught her how to do beadwork when Reba was eleven years old. Soon she made items that were good enough to be sold to help buy food for the household.
When Reba was 13, she made her first beaded buckle. Her sister taught her some important rules based on traditional Shoshone ways. Rule 1: Native Americans are not “perfect” and if she made a mistake, that she was to leave it as it was. This is the Native way of acknowledging that we are human in the eyes of our Creator – not perfect. Rule 2: To give away their first beadwork item to someone, because it is the traditional way of giving.
Doing beadwork has always been a part of her life, beginning with the need to help put food on the table and then in later life, for the enjoyment and relaxation. She has been doing beadwork for 58 years and some folks consider her to be an expert bead worker.
During the 1980’s she became interested in the old time floral designs, which she saw in some historical Shoshone photographs. She began to collect books on floral beadwork and began making her own design sketches. She also studied the color schemes of old time beadwork and the kinds of beads they used.
Meet more of our Fellows
See All
Delores Taitano Quinata
Bilembaotuyan Maker & Player
Hagatna, Guam
Lydia “Louise” Goings (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)
Cherokee Basket Maker
Birdtown Community on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, NC)
David Comingdeer (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma)
Cherokee Ball Stick Maker
Flint District of the Cherokee Nation (Stilwell, OK)
TJ Sgwaayaans Young (Kaigani Haida)
Haida Wood Carver
Hydaburg, AK
Van-Anh Vanessa Vo
Vietnamese Traditional Musician & Composer
El Cerrito, CA
Reba Jo Teran (Eastern Shoshone)
Traditional Shoshone Saddle Maker & Bead Worker
Fort Washakie, WY
Raymond Wong
Traditional Chinese Lion Dancer & Martial Artist
Chinatown, Washington, DC
Ramón Rivera
Mariachi Musician & Educator
Mount Vernon, WA
Omar Santiago Fuentes
Puerto Rican Troubadour, Improviser of Verse & Décimas
Hatillo, Puerto Rico
Manuel A Delgado
Old-World Luthier
Nashville, TN
Lani Strong Hotch (Chilkat-Tlingit)
Chilkat/Ravenstail Weaver & Textile Artist
Klukwan, AK
Kewulay Kamara
Mandeng Finah Poet & Storyteller
Jackson Heights, NY
Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Haudenosaunee Raised Beadworker
Stevens Point, WI
Inna Kovtun
Ukrainian Ethno-Singer & Folklorist
Portland, OR
Hamid Al-Saadi
Iraqi Maqam Vocalist
Brooklyn, NY
Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk)
Indigenous Chef
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Dena Jennings
Affrolachian Musician & Culture Bearer
Nasons, VA
Chum Ngek
Cambodian Musician & Ritual Artist
Gaithersburg, MD
Billy Branch
Blues Musician
Chicago, IL
Chef BJ Dennis
Gullah Geechee Chef & Cultural Bearer
Charleston, SC
Brett Ratliff
Traditional Appalachian Musician
Stamping Ground, KY
Bruce Bradley
Tap Dancer
Flint, MI
Annetta Koruh (Hopi)
Hopi Weaver
Village Bacavi, Third Mesa-Hopi land, Arizona (Bacavi, AZ)
Alejandro López
Chicano Muralist
Santa Cruz, NM
Wayne Henderson
Appalachian Luthier & Musician
Mouth of Wilson, VA
Willard John
Moko Jumbie Stilt Dancer
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Veronica Castillo
Mexican Polychromatic Ceramicist
San Antonio, TX
Theresa Secord
Penobscot Basketmaker
Farmington, ME
Stan Rodriguez
Kumeyaay Culture Bearer
Santa Ysabel, CA
Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto
Japanese Koto Musician
Oakland, CA
Shaka Zulu
New Orleans Black Masking craftsman & stiltdancer
New Orleans, LA
Sami Abu Shumays
Arab Musician
Queens, New York, NY
Roy & PJ Hirabayashi
Japanese American Taiko Musicians
San Jose, CA
Pedro Adorno Irizarry
Puerto Rican theater artist and director
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ofelia Esparza & Rosanna Esparza Ahrens
Chicana Altaristas
East Los Angeles, CA
Meklit Hadero
Ethio-Jazz Vocalist & Composer
San Francisco, CA
King Khazm
Hip Hop Artist
Seattle, WA
Juan Longoria, Jr.
Conjunto Accordionist & Educator
Los Fresnos, TX
Jontavious Willis
Blues Musician
Luthersville, GA
Jesus M. Cepeda Brenes
Afro-Puerto Rican Musician & Folklorist
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Iris Brown
Puerto Rican Foodways & Agriculture
Philadelphia, PA
Gertie Lopez
Tohono O'odham Waila Musician
Tucson, AZ
Eva Ybarra
Conjunto Accordionist & Bandleader
San Antonio, TX
Dr. Dwayne Tomah
Passamaquoddy Language Keeper
Edmunds, ME
Deborah Gourneau
Anishinaabe (Chippewa) Culture Bearer
Belcourt, ND
Dani Pikolakitisaata Tippmann
Miami Plant Tradition-Bearer
Myaamionki (Fort Wayne, IN)
Bill Harris
Catawba Master Potter
McConnells, SC
Carolyn Mazloomi
Quiltmaker
West Chester, OH
Adrienne Benjamin | Amikogaabawiikwe
Jingle Dress Maker, Cultural Artist
Chiminising, Misizaagaiganing (Isle, MN)
Anwan “Big G” Glover
Go-Go Music Pioneer
Washington D.C.