Jennifer Paige Byram

This dissertation project documents variability in eighteenth and nineteenth-century weaving practices by Indigenous women of the Southeastern United States. Indigenous perishable material culture in North America, including woven textiles and basketry, remains understudied due to its rarity in the archaeological record and dearth of early colonial-era examples in museums. Funding is requested for museum fieldwork and Indigenous community visits (virtual and in-person) to museums to document a minimum of 100 woven objects that inform on Indigenous peoples’ connections to land, trade, and other makers. Through attribute-based object analysis, gathering contextual data on objects and weaving practices, and work with Indigenous artists, this study addresses the following: 1) How did Indigenous weavers’ material choices change or remain the same? 2) What lessons can Indigenous communities today learn through these weavings about strategies for cultural survival? These woven objects survive as documents of persistence and adaptation among Indigenous weavers of Southeast North America that have yet to be examined systematically and resonate with contemporary descendant communities. This project seeks to overcome knowledge loss due to land dispossession, land relocation, and environmental changes in Indigenous homelands and engages with Indigenous nations to support ongoing cultural reclamation efforts.