Living artists and ancestral traditions are featured in this exhibit highlighting the Plateau arts of weaving, hidework, bead and quill embroidery. Because of the many transformations these environments, they are an excellent medium through which to portray the story of the changing lives of Indian people from pre-reservation days to the present. It is the story of the evolution of a living tradition, where knowledge is shared from one generation to the next and innovation encouraged.
Themes addressed by the exhibit are historical, anthropological and artistic in nature.
It examines women s roles in the development of these art forms, demonstrating how their use and design relate to women s lives. It also explores the dynamic of change - how traditional arts have been influenced by changes in environment, patterns of social interaction, working conditions, economy, etc. Native artists have always adapted to changing times and cross-cultural influences, absorbing these changes and making them their own. The devotion of Plateau artists to the traditional arts is an important symbol of cultural survival against the odds. This exhibition is a testament to their success.