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LORRAINE SHANANAQUET
Wa-sa-bien-no-qua (Lady of the Northern Light)
Ojibwe (Lynx Clan)/Potawatomi
Hopkins, Michigan
Wa-sa-bien-no-qua (Lady of the Northern Light)
Ojibwe (Lynx Clan)/Potawatomi
Hopkins, Michigan
Punkin, as Lorraine Shananaquet is known, comes from a family of artists and cultural leaders. George Martin, her father, is a highly accomplished beadworker and carver who often serves as a head dancer and judge in pow wows in the Great Lakes area. Her mother, Sydney Martin, is a respected maker of clothing and dance regalia. Her husband, David Shananaquet, is a well-known painter whose work hangs in numerous museums and galleries in Michigan.
Shananaquet carries on her family's traditions of beading, regalia making, and dancing and is often asked to be the lead dancer in area pow wows. She takes a special interest in beadwork and painstakingly combs shops, garage sales, and flea markets to locate old garments made of the tiny antique beads she prefers to use in her work. Her regalia incorporates traditional materials, symbols, and designs of the Woodland Indians.
Shananaquet is passing on her traditional knowledge to her children, who regularly assist her with beading and dance in regional pow wows. Accompanied at times by other members of her family, she occasionally makes cultural presentations to schools and other organizations.