Twenty-one-strand dentalium necklaces made by Bowie and used in ceremony. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Katie Bowie

Northern California and Potawatomi regalia

Northern California Humboldt County Native American Dance Ritual/Religious Arts Visual/Craft/Material Arts Bear River Hupa/Hoopa Potawatomi Wiyot Yurok 2023

Northern California and Potawatomi regalia

Bowie (left) with her oldest daughter the morning after her flower dance ceremony. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.

Katie Bowie (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) lives in Northern California on the ancestral territory of the Hupa, Yurok, and Wiyot people. Her husband and children are enrolled in the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria and are descendants of the Yurok and Hupa tribes. Bowie has worked with her tribe’s culture department for years, learning about regalia making, food sovereignty, and the gathering and processing of traditional materials for basketry. She has also worked with the California Indian Basketweavers’ Association (CIBA) and Two Feathers Native American Family Services (a local non-profit organization). Bowie has done extensive research on the bands that make up Bear River (Wiyot, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, and Whilkut) and is currently working on a museum project.

Living Cultures Grant

2023

Katie’s Wzhetonen (Creations) & Cultural Revitalization Workshops

Bowie will complete a ceremonial regalia dress for her daughter, who is an enrolled tribal member of the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria. She will also teach other tribal members in her community to make regalia for their daughters.