Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin)
Haudenosaunee Raised Beadworker
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin / Iroquois
Stevens Point, WI
“Taproots are nearly always accompanied by delicate, fibrous secondary roots. These ‘secondary roots’ provide support, connection and nourishment without which the taproot cannot thrive. Being a part of this Taproots cadre is my chance, my obligation, to become a joyful part of this critical network of delicate connections.”
Karen Ann Hoffman
Karen Ann Hoffman Rat Traps on exhibit at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
Karen Ann Hoffman Otsego Urn on the beading table-a long ways to go yet.
Sky Woman Chair (permanent collection of the Field Museum). Detail of the Tree of Light and Life. Photo credit-Mike Hoffman
Woody the Doctor. Perched on a weakenedBirch Tree, Woodpecker removes an insect, treating the tree while feeding himself. Photo by Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City. Photo by EG Schempf. Woody lives in the Norman’s permanent collection.
Karen Ann Hoffman, Edge beading detail in progress
Jim’s Medicine Bag. Permanent collection of the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown NY. A memorial bag for mentor and friend, James F Frechetter, Jr who, at his death feast gifted me the velvet from which this bag is made. The medicine is not in the bag…the Medicine was in the making of the bag. Photo Credit James Gill Photography, Madison, WI
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Beadwork as a written language to hold & share stories
Sheku, My name is Karen Ann Hoffman. I’m a Haudenosaunee Raised Beadwork Artist and an enrolled citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. I make my home outside Stevens Point, Wisconsin on a 40 acre homestead where I live, hunt, forage and bead. I believe strongly in the power and importance of Native art and the necessity to have authentic, in-community voices in the forefront of the conversations, installations and curation of that art.
I use my beadwork as a written language to hold and share the traditions, stories and worldview of generations of my ancestors, to represent for the incredible Haudenosaunee artists of today and to lay a table for those whose faces we have yet to see.
I am honored to have been designated as a a Taproot Fellow as a result of safekeeping and sharing our Haudenosaunee culture, I am also honored to have been named an Oneida National Treasure by my tribe as well as a National Heritage Fellow by the NEA and a Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow.
I think it’s important that both nations of which I am a citizen, and these other important cultural support organizations recognize the importance of beadwork as a material language and the necessity of keeping and sharing our stories.
What does the Taproot Fellowship mean to you and how will it affect your practice?
Taproots are deep, yes, perfectly suited for penetration and absorption. But, they are nearly always accompanied by delicate, fibrous secondary roots. These ‘secondary roots’ provide support, connection and nourishment without which the taproot cannot thrive. Being a part of this Taproots cadre is my chance, my obligation, to become a joyful part of this critical network of delicate connections.
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