13 Facts About Alice Littleman

Alice Littleman was a Kiowa beadwork artist and regalia maker, who during her lifetime was recognized as one of the leading Kiowa beaders and buckskin dressmakers.

Alice Littleman's works are included in the permanent collections of the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Southern Plains Indian Museum, and the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Alice Littleman's family was Kiowa, and she descended from Tohausen III, through her grandfather Konad.

Alice Littleman's entry won the first prize in the beadwork category, and Jones sent her mother the $50 prize money.

Alice Littleman's beading was done with waxed buckskin strips, as thread was not an Indigenous material, and she used both cut beads with faceted sides to produce sparkle and seed beads with dull finishes.

Typical Kiowa designs used by Alice Littleman included leaf motifs, and she paid particular attention to color placement to ensure that her designs were visible from a distance.

Alice Littleman created more than 50 buckskin dresses, adorned with fringe tipped with metal cones, medallions set in horizontal rows of beads, and leaf motifs, taking care to balance the elements in the overall composition.

Journalist Suzette Brewer compared her skill to the artistic masters Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Picasso, stating "Alice Littleman is to Southern Plains beadworking what these masters are to painting".

Alice Littleman taught the Kiowa language, wanting to preserve the oral use of her first language with a vocabulary so difficult that even she did not write it.

Alice Littleman's work toured throughout the United States and Europe, and Littleman was the subject of both a British and Japanese documentary.

Alice Littleman's work is part of the permanent collections of the Southern Plains Indian Museum and her most treasured honor was having one of her buckskin dresses selected for the collections of the Smithsonian Institution at the National Museum of Natural History.

In 1993, Alice Littleman was recognized for her lifetime achievements as the guest of honor of the Twin Eagles Powwow in Minden, Louisiana.

Alice Littleman died on May 26,2000, at Grady Memorial Hospital in Chickasha, Oklahoma, and was buried the following day in Memory Lane Cemetery of Anadarko.