Dorothy Grant (Haida) was raised in Ketchikan, Alaska, a member of the Kaigani Haida Raven clan from the Brown Bear house of Howkan.  As a fashion designer and traditional Haida artist, Grant’s garments, ceremonial button blankets, and spruce-root hats reveal her strong connection to her culture and sense of Haida identity.  Grant is recipient of a Best Professional Designer Award from the Canadian Council for Native Business “Winds of Change” design competition and was honored at the University of Northern British Columbia (Canada) with an Honorary Doctorate of Law degree in acknowledgement of her business achievement and influence as a role model in aboriginal communities.  Grant’s fashion designs are in the permanent collections of the Canadian Museum of Civilization (Québec), deYoung Museum (CA), Smithsonian Institution, National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), and Burke Museum (WA).

Joyce Growing Thunder Fogarty
(Assiniboine/Sioux) is one of the West's most highly
 regarded beadworkers. She has created more than 500 dresses, cradle boards, dolls and other pieces, and has won top honors at the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts' annual show in Santa Fe three times — more than any other artist in the show’s history.  Fogarty grew up on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation (MT).  Museum’s exhibiting her work have included The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (CA), Josylyn Art Museum (NE), Renwick Gallery (D.C.), Montclair Art Museum (NJ) and Heard Museum (AZ), among many others.  Her daughter, Juanita, and granddaughter, Jessica, continue the family’s beadworking tradition, and all three are featured artists in the NMAI exhibition “Identity by Design”.

Veronica Poblano (Zuni) is an award-winning and self-taught lapidary, gold and silversmith.  The daughter of a well-known Zuni sculptor, she began carving stone at age 14 and spent many years creating animal figures to help support her family on the pueblo.  Veronica eventually moved to California with two small children, and the growing success of her jewelry creations soon eclipsed the money she was making as a hairdresser.  Notice at local art and craft shows led to a strong following for her highly stylized earrings, pendants and bracelets.  Then, in 1994, Veronica met a Japanese buyer who purchased all she had for a gallery opening in Tokyo — the beginning of many shows to come.  Today, Veronica’s notable clients included Kevin Costner, Michael Horse, Lou Diamond Phillips and Robby Williams, among many others.

Joe Baker (Delaware) is a painter and beadworker who has furthered the arts traditions of his family, including the beading he learned from his mother.  Born in Oklahoma, Joe has served on numerous prominent national boards and commissions, and he teaches and curates extensively.  Joe’s work has been shown internationally, including exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Heard Museum (AZ), Eiteljorg Museum (IN), and Penland School of Crafts (NC), among many others.  He also is represented in several important public collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Chase Bank, United Airlines, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.