Aubree Fasthorse (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska), 28, has been doing beadwork for over 10 years, and has always enjoyed listening to family members stories and learning about her culture. She has always had a passion for art and finds it an important part of her identity as a way to to express herself and connect to her heritage. She has an extensive portfolio of work and runs a small beadwork business specializing in beaded jewelry, shoes, and portraits. She has recently completed a six-month artist grant, and training program through The Native American Craft Readiness Group.

Fasthorse’s dream is to relearn and teach traditional cultural practices, through cradleboard in a two part project. She will create a set of traditional cradleboards, using traditional materials and adorning them with Ioway floral patters. She will also be documenting the process of creating the cradleboards, recording the stories and histories of cradleboards and floral patterns, and compiling these into a booklet that that can be distributed to other members of the community.