The Richard F. Brush Art Gallery has recently acquired The Gathering of Nations, a stunning 42-inch beaded belt by Akwesasne Mohawk artists, Kelly Tsieriwaiens Back and Tyson Karonhiahere Back, from Fire Loom Creations. The work was created for Akwesasne Travel's 2025 Juried Art Market in July.
Artists’ Statement: "The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is made up of six nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later adopting Tuscarora. These nations united in the 1700s to create a peaceful way to make decisions and live in harmony together. A unique blend of law, nature, and values are equally important in the eyes of the Haudenosaunee.
The Haudenosaunee are a matrilineal society in which children inherit their mothers’ clan. The nine clans are represented by birds and animals and are divided by three elements of land, water and air. The Tree of Peace symbolizes their unification. These nations have pledged their allegiance to one another by burying any weapons or negativity under the Tree of Peace. The Eagle is the protector of our people and will always continue to watch over the Haudenosaunee nations.
The Haudenosaunee’s origin stories explain how the Peacemaker brought together these nations during a time of great war. After bringing the nations together in Great Peace, he explained to them the strength of being together as one. He held a single arrow in his hand, demonstrating how it can easily be broken. But when holding all five arrows together, it is impossible to break.
To create this belt, we used homemade sinew made from the backstrap of a deer, dyed deer tail hair, porcupine quills, gold-dyed deer hide, size 10 glass seed beads, brass beads and cones, and nylon string.
To make the natural sinew, we pounded dried deer backstrap until it broke into tiny string-like fibers, which we used to sew on the leather backing for the belt. For the porcupine quills, we gathered roadside porcupines and plucked as many thick quills as we could from the animals. We washed and cut each quill into multiple sizes and then wove them into the belt one by one. We harvested deer hair and dyed each bundle with different colored dyes."
To watch the belt under construction, click here.