Abstract

Although Indigenous women living on the prairies fostered and maintained prolific creative practices throughout the mid-twentieth century, their work and artistic production is rarely discussed in art historical discourses and/or included within the ‘canons’ of Indigenous and other art histories. Accordingly, this thesis focuses on the Sioux Handcraft Co-operative (SHC), their artistry, and their work as a community-engaged creative enterprise. I examine how the collective responded to a growing need for economic support in Indigenous communities, especially for Indigenous women, in the context of a developing professional craft sector in Canada. Addressing the intersections between craft, community, home-enterprise, and gendered labour, I argue that the SHC’s artistry functioned as a social agent for cultural continuity and economic freedom all the while resisting and challenging assimilation into the colonial society.