Margaret Bird grew up curious, pattering after her elders to learn all she could about traditional ways – not just Osage but those of all Native Americans.
Along the way, she amassed not only knowledge, but the skills to create indigenous clothing. She has amassed a large collection of regalia that she pulls from to put on Native fashion shows.
“When I was very young, I listened to the elders, Aunt Rose Hill and Lily Cunningham,” she said. “Then I started traveling around and getting information and now I have 50 traditional sets. No museum in the world has all of the tribes.
“Hopefully, one day people will be able to see all of the traditional clothes – not powwow clothes.”
On May 16, Bird put on a show at the United Methodist Church’s Velma Oaks Family Life Center for some 200 tourists who arrived by bus to attend the show then eat Indian tacos.
All the women in the show wore traditional clothes – Sioux, Osage, Delaware, Cherokee, Navajo, Chickasaw, Creek, and more – that Bird made. The three men in the show wore their own regalia as a favor to Bird, who said the event was put together on short notice.
