Artisan Jewelry Inspired by Heritage
Unique beadwork and designs celebrating Indigenous culture.
Artisan Jewelry Inspired by Heritage
Unique beadwork and designs celebrating Indigenous culture.
Meet Chikasha Alaska
Passion for Design
I am a self-taught Chickasaw and Choctaw artist whose work bridges ancestral memory and contemporary vision. What began as a mother-daughter Heritage Day project in Anchorage, Alaska became a profound journey of cultural reclamation and creative revival. When my daughter asked, “Where are all the Chickasaws, Mom?” I didn’t just answer with words—I answered with beadwork, fiber, and fire.
Without a matriarch to guide my hand, I became my own teacher. I studied traditional techniques through books, digital archives, and mentorship from master Chickasaw artists. From those first stitches, a movement began. My pieces—ranging from beaded collars and finger-woven belts to pine needle baskets and full regalia—carry the textures of both homeland and heartland. I blend natural materials like sea glass, shells, and fibers with bold design and ancestral storytelling, transforming each work into a living expression of Indigenous identity and strength.
My artistry has been featured at the Chickasaw Nation’s Dynamic Women’s Conference and the 2024 and 2025 Southeastern Art Show & Market (SEASAM), where my collars drew the admiration of collectors, curators, and family members alike. My growing body of commissioned work has reached families and institutions from Oklahoma to Alaska, each piece carrying my signature balance of precision, passion, and purpose.
In 2023, I began teaching Chickasaw collar and ornament classes in Anchorage, sharing my knowledge with new learners and future matriarchs. I continue to pass these teachings to my daughter, siblings, and community—because to me, every thread is an act of connection.
I am the great-great-granddaughter of Mollie Fillmore and Henry Greenwood, Dawes Roll enrollees, and the granddaughter of Walter and Olive Spurlin, one of Alaska’s early homestead families. I carry a legacy of endurance and creativity. Since returning to Oklahoma in 2024, I have proudly embraced the name many now call me: “The Chickasaw Artist from Alaska.”
My work is a reminder that art is not only what we see—it is what we remember, reclaim, and pass forward.
"Matriarch in the Making"
Photo Credit: Mike Conti