Jeri Redcorn

Jereldine "Jeri" Redcorn (born November 23, 1939) is an Oklahoman artist who single-handedly revived traditional Caddo pottery.[2]

Jeri Redcorn
Born
Jereldine Elliot

(1939-11-23)November 23, 1939
Albuquerque, New Mexico
NationalityCaddo Nation of Oklahoma-Citizen Potawatomi Nation[1]
Known forceramics
MovementCaddo pottery
Websiteredcornpottery.com
Caddo pot by Jereldine Redcorn (2005), collection of the Oklahoma History Center.

Background

Jereldine Redcorn was born on 23 November 1939 at the Indian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her father was Caddo, and her mother was Potawatomi.[1] Redcorn grew up in Colony, Oklahoma, living with on her Caddo grandmother Francis Elliot's allotment lands.[3] Her tribal name is Bah-ha Nutte, meaning "River Woman."[2] She graduated from Colony High School, then earned a bachelor of science degree from Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas and her master's degree from the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Revival

In 1991, Redcorn and fellow members of the Caddo Cultural Club visited the Museum of the Red River in Idabel, Oklahoma. There they saw hundreds of precontact Caddo pots, which even the tribal elders were completely unfamiliar with. "That day we were so excited that we decided as a group, as a tribe, we would learn how to do it and make Caddo pottery once again," Redcorn said. Her brother taught her the basics of coiled pottery. With extreme difficulty, she learned burnishing and engraving techniques.[3]

Artwork

In 1991, Redcorn began experimenting and teaching herself how to make pottery using traditional Caddo methods, which involve coiling the clay and incising for decoration.[4] She uses metal or bone tools to incise her pots with ancestral Caddo designs and hand fires them, instead of using a commercial kiln. To add color, she rubs red clay into the incised designs.[1]

Collections

Redcorn's pottery is found in several public collections, including the following:

In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama displayed a pot by Jeri Redcorn, Intertwining Scrolls, in the White House.[1][4]

Personal life

Redcorn was married to Charles Redcorn, an Osage Nation author. Together, they lived in Norman, Oklahoma[1] until his death in 2017.[6]

Notes
  1. Duty, Shannon Shaw. "Jeri Red Corn’s ‘Intertwining Scrolls’ picked to grace Oval Office." Archived 2013-06-20 at the Wayback Machine 19 Oct 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  2. "Jeri Redcorn, Traditional Caddo Potter." Caddo Mounds State Historic Side. 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  3. "Reviving a Lost Tradition." Texas Beyond History. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  4. "New Acquisition: Clay vessels by Native American potter Jeri Redcorn added to Smithsonian collections." Smithsonian Science. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  5. Mulkerin, Meghan. "Welcoming the Redcorn Pottery to NMNH". Rogers Archaeology Lab. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  6. http://osagenews.org/en/article/2017/07/24/charles-red-corn-obituary/
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