Naomi Bebo biography

Naomi Bebo (Menominee, Ho-Chunk) is a Native American beadwork artist based in the Phoenix, Arizona area. A product of federal relocation policies in Indian Country, Naomi was born and raised in the City of Los Angeles, California, one of the largest urban indigenous populations, where she grew up with her grandparents’ ‘boarding school’ oral tradition; learning beadwork and dancing through city youth programs; and an early fascination with resistance movements, especially as of the 1960s-1970s. The latter eventually led to a career in the field of federal Indian law, tribal law, and indigenous rights law. Originally a powwow regalia beadworker, Naomi blended her traditional Woodlands beadwork with her passion for the environment and Native American and international indigenous peoples rights and activism through the medium of intricately beaded gasmasks. Her work frequently explores transformation, healing and preservation through the act of creation; and the pluralistic function of masks in their use for war, storytelling, relationship-building, and spirituality.