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In 1893, when missionaries came to the village
on the remote Hopi reservation, they brought not only their faith but
also a supply of fabric squares, needles and thread. Each week, they would
teach Hopi women how to stitch the bits of fabric into simple quilts.
The Hopi men made fun of the women's clumsy, early efforts -- in their
culture, it was always the men who wove the fine cloth and did the sewing.
The women made baskets and painted designs on pottery.
At first, the scraps were fashioned into plain, utilitarian bedcoverings. Over time, however, the quilts became more intricate and decorative. The women began to work in groups, and mothers taught the stitchery to their daughters. Today, quilting is a tradition that spans three or four generations and the early patchwork quilts have evolved into contemporary works of art that incorporate Hopi symbols and designs. Television producer Pam Stevenson is a third-generation quilter whose credits include a documentary on quilting and a book on the subject. She got her first look at Hopi quilts last spring when she met Carolyn O'Bagy Davis, who was working on a book about Hopi quilts in conjunction with a current exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. "The quilts I saw were so visually dramatic, I started thinking in terms of video," says Stevenson. "We went up to the reservation to talk to some of the women and see if they would be interested in the project. When several agreed we presented the idea to the tribe and got permission to make a video documentary." Back in the Valley, she approached PBS affiliate KAET-TV to co-produce the program, secured funding from PMN, ITVS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and assembled an award-winning production team. "I was most impressed with the openness of the people," Stevenson says. "They couldn't have been more gracious as they welcomed us into their homes. We even cooked corn together." At one point, she explains, they were talking about the significance of corn in Hopi culture, and why it appears in their designs. "The next thing I knew, we were all husking, boiling and roasting corn." Some of the women were comfortable talking about their work in front of the cameras. Others were shy about doing interviews but let Stevenson photograph their quilts. "They would even wrap their little ones in baby quilts so we could film them. On our last trip, we got footage of adorable seven-week-old twins wrapped in beautiful matching quilts." For Stevenson, the project was doubly satisfying. "As a producer, it was fun because the subject is so visual it offered wonderful possibilities. I didn't have to struggle to find pictures or the stories that go with them." As a quilter, she found pleasure on a more personal level. The stories about the quilts and why they make them are the same as those of quilters everywhere, she says, except that these women use designs that reflect their own traditions and the quilts have special cultural uses -- they are part of baby-naming ceremonies, given as wedding gifts and created to commemorate special occasions. "But if you listen to their comments -- that quilting relieves stress and offers a way to express themselves and that when they are done they have something tangible, something of themselves that they can pass on to future generations -- these are answers I would get from quilters anywhere." Today, Hopi quilters meet regularly in villages throughout the reservation to share an experience that has become an outlet for creative expression. They socialize while they sew, with young women listening to the stories told by the elders. And they are just beginning to see their work recognized as an art. The current exhibit at the Museum of Northern Arizona documents the tradition of Hopi quilting, and the work of two of the quilters seen in the program is part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. Some of the quilters are reaching out to develop a market for their work that will provide much-needed income for their families. Carolyn O'Bagy Davis and other quilters and teachers from Phoenix and Tucson have made several visits to the reservation, and some of the Hopi women have come to Phoenix to take classes and share work. "It's a mutually beneficial collaboration," says Stevenson. "Their shared interest and the pleasure they get from quilting cuts across cultural lines. It's fun to see them talking 'quilter language' and enjoying the camaraderie."
Executive Producer, Writer: Pam Stevenson |
