Niisüü Disguised as Naltsįį – Upcycled Jean
Jacket (detail)
Teresa Vander Meer-Chass  (Upper Tanana)
2020
Bicycle inner tube, seed beads, short bugle beads,
24k gold beads, galvanized gold beads, nylon thread
On loan from the artist

For many years my family and I identified ourselves as Naltsįį (Crow Clan); however, this was incorrect. Recently, our Elders told us we are descendants of the Niisüü – a group that survived on a raft and were rescued by the Naltsįį. I’ve represented N ltsįį with the beaded bicycle inner tube feathers and the Niisüü are represented by the golden raft on the back of the jacket.