Messengers, Rhonda Holy Bear

Artwork Overview

Rhonda Holy Bear, Messengers
Rhonda Holy Bear, Messengers
Rhonda Holy Bear
Messengers
1985
Rhonda Holy Bear
Cultural affiliations: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (enrolled citizen)
born 1959, active 1977–present
Messengers, 1985
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: braiding; dyeing; buckskin; leather; chicken feathers; beading; cotton; paint; hair; nickel silver
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 46 x 22 x 10 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 18 1/8 x 8 11/16 x 3 15/16 in
Credit line: Gift of the Frank C. Sabatini Family
Accession number: 2022.0007
Not on display
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Label texts

Native Fashion
Comparing Mattel’s mass-produced Native American Barbies with the hand-crafted dolls by Rhonda Holy Bear, it is clear which version accurately depicts Native American culture and traditions. However, Holy Bear’s dolls are not meant to be children’s toys. Affordable dolls that represent various cultures can be exciting when created in collaboration with people from those cultures. But American Indians, like any group, are not monolithic, and have varying opinions about their representation in popular culture.

Exhibitions

Native Fashion
, curator