Emily Waheneka


Emily Waheneka was a Native American artist, of Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute tribal heritage.
Waheneka is known for her beadwork and other sewn crafts. During her lifetime, she was influenced by her mother and grandmother's beadwork, and was an active participant in Waashat religion, community and culture. The range of her work included beaded contoured bags, tobacco pouches, ceremonial buckskin dancing attire such as wing-dresses and ribbon shirts, as well as designs for Pendleton coats. Her work is represented in numerous private collections, and in the permanent collection of The Museum at Warm Springs, in Oregon state at the Museum of Northwest Art. She taught traditional Native bead working, and was certified by the Native American Arts & Crafts council.

Early life

Waheneka was born with the Native name, Kis-Sun-Y, to George Henning and Annie Anderson Pewee, who was also a beadworker and weaver of corn husk bags. She learned to sew at the age of six. Her first language is Sahaptin. In 1925, she began learning English at Indian boarding school. At age 12, she began working as a waitress, and continued to refine her sewing, beading and hide-tanning skills. During WWII she worked as a certified welder in shipyards.

Awards and honors

In 1993, Waheneka was awarded the Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award. At age 86, Waheneka was interviewed for the oral history project, the Lewis and Clark Rediscovery Project, of the University of Idaho, where she discusses the diseases introduced into native populations as the result of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Exhibitions

Waheneka's work was featured in the exhibition, Washington Voices in Contemporary Sculpture, at the Bellevue Arts Museum.

Collections

Waheneka's work is represented in collections of the Warm Springs Museum, the Museum of Northwest Art, among others.