Sageeyah Gold: Honoring the Pollinators and the Humans Who Protect Them

Beaded Bandolier Bag By Martha Berry

Size: Approximately 36” H x 16” W x 3/4” D

Materials: Glass seed beads, wool, cotton, silk, wool yarn. To the extent possible, all materials and techniques are authentic to Cherokee beadwork created c.1800.

Notes: This bandolier bag required 379 hours to produce, completed 10/5/2018.

Sageeyah Gold:
Honoring the Pollinators and the Humans Who Protect Them

My family’s Cherokee allotment land is in Sageeyah, Oklahoma. I have a cousin who still raises bees on that land, just as our ancestors did beginning shortly after the American Civil War. This bag is a tribute to them and to the bees who protect us all.

The bees on our land produce the sweetest honey you have ever tasted. The precious “gold” in the title of this bandolier bag does not refer to the honey, however. It refers to the pollen.