Artist Profile: Mary Young Bear

by Bryon Houlgrave

When Mary Young Bear was a little girl, she had aspirations of doing great things. Bead art wasn’t high on that list. She would watch as her grandmother took tiny beads, one by one, and stitched them onto a piece of felt that would begin to resemble a pattern and then, finally, an intricate and detailed piece of Native American art. It was beautiful, and each piece told a story, but Mary didn’t see her story there. 

“I remember when I was a little girl my dad told me to keep beading,” Young Bear said. 

Her father, George, advised her to stick with it and keep improving. It was advice Mary remembers not fully appreciating at the time.

“I was thinking at the time, ‘Really? You want me to bead and this is it? Like you don’t have any higher aspirations for me?’ And I felt really bad, but over the years I realized that this is a big part of who I am, and it has taken me everywhere.”

Mary, whose Meskwaki name is Bo na bi ga – after her great grandmother, was born in Denver, Colorado, and moved to the Meskwaki Settlement near Tama, Iowa, with her father and siblings when she was 19. 

She maintained her beadwork, observing the world around her and creating a body of work that tells the story of her family, the story of her land and of the Meskwaki people. 

Young Bear says Meskwaki bead art is very distinct.

“It really does reflect what you see in nature,” she said.

Like any artist, Young Bear sees beyond the surface. She sees beyond the shapes and the outlines. She does not take the gifts of the land for granted.

“If you look at a leaf or a blade of grass, if you really look at it, you’re going to see purple and pink and different shades of green and brown. It’s not just one color. There’s dimensions to each living thing, and that’s how people are, too. We have dimensions, different layers. So all of that is reflected in our work.”

She is passionate about telling a story in each craft she creates.

“It’s all a process, and it’s all work, and it all comes out of your heart. You’re putting a little piece of yourself into what you do, and that makes it art.”

The best advice she can give a young artist is to enjoy the process and be patient with yourself.

“Don’t beat yourself up and don’t expect things to be spectacular right at the beginning because it takes time and practice.”