In this episode, we're excited to welcome Joe Big Mountain (Mohawk/Cree/Comanche) and Sunshine Big Mountain (Oneida Nation) of Ironhorse Quillwork. Joe Big Mountain is known for his one-of-a-kind quillwork, and in 2024, the Big Mountains co-created with Gucci two custom gowns worn by actor Lily Gladstone (Siksikaitsitapi [Blackfeet]/Nimiipuu [Nez Perce]) at the 96th Academy Awards and Vanity Fair Oscars party. The gowns featured porcupine quillwork done exclusively by the Big Mountains and their team of Native artists.

The Big Mountains had a total of three weeks to design in Italy, teach Indigenous artists back home, and have the final gown ready for Lily at the Oscars. Joe and Sunshine made sure to keep the practice of quillwork — one of Indigenous Peoples’ oldest art forms in the northern region of North America — in Indigenous hands whi ...