INDIANAPOLIS — A fascinating exhibition of Native quill art — one of the earliest forms of decorative art in North America — opens Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Eiteljorg Museum. In the traveling exhibition Gaawii Eta-Go Aawizinoo Gaawiye Mkakoons: It’s Not Just A Quillbox, visitors will experience more than 90 quilled artworks and learn about the artists who made them.
Native artists of the Great Lakes region specialize in using porcupine quills, sweetgrass and birch bark to create brilliant, embroidered quill boxes and art featuring designs inspired by woodland floral and fauna, including vibrant geometric designs. Not only does the exhibition highlight a regional Indigenous art form through many sensational examples, it also celebrates Anishinabemowin, the spoken language of the Odawa (Ottawa), Ojibwe (Chippewa) and Bodewadmi (Potawatomi), all Anishinaabek peoples of the Great Lakes region. To underscore the resiliency of the language, the exhibition has bilingual panels printed in Anishinabemowin, followed by English translations.
A traveling exhibition of the Ziibiwing Center for Anishinaabe Culture and Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Gaawii Eta-Go Aawizinoo Gaawiye Mkakoons: It’s Not Just A Quillbox continues daily at the Eiteljorg through March 29, 2026, and is included with regular museum admission. Visit eiteljorg.org for special events related to this exhibition, and to order tickets. The exhibition is free with admission.
