Porcupine Quill work is one of the oldest art forms that the Sioux Nations have today.  In the old days the Sioux People had quill societies and this quillwork was a sign of wealth. This wealth is not of earthly riches.  This form of wealth that Indian women put on men’s clothes was knowledge. Indian men carried their knowledge with them to council and in every thing they did. Indian People never looked at wealth as possessions; it was carried in the form of honesty, knowledge, wisdom, strong virtues and peace. The Sioux women would quill their tipis, moccasins, leggings, breast plates, saddles, blankets, buffalo robes, spoons, forks, knives, hats, feathers and numerous other items.  To the Sioux people it is important to follow your dreams and visions.  By applying these dreams to your spiritual walk in life your walk is connected to the spirit world.  This connection to the spirit world through dreams gives us strength and purpose in our walk. By listening and following our dreams we create and develop positive energy and direction in our walk.  

          The Sioux People applied this dream philosophy to everything including Quillwork. A single dream no matter how short or long it is will change your life.

          This is the dream that I had when I started to do quill work as a teenager.

          One night I dreamt I was standing in room and I could not see anything.  All of a sudden a beam of light came down from above, this light was soft and about 12 feet across.  As I looked across this room I saw a flight of stairs, these stairs had no structure to hold them in place. As I looked up these stairs, all I could see was sky.  I started to climb up the stairs and about half way up the stairs I saw a chief.  This chief had on a white buckskin shirt, leggings and an eagle feather bonnet.  This chief said, “Pick them up”, as he said this light came down from above and quills started to fall from the heavens.  I started to pick these quills up off the ground and out of the air.  This chief spoke again and said, “Those belong to you”. Then he pointed toward a doorway and on the other side was a box full of eagles of every species. I could sense about 12 eagles in that box.

          This spiritual dream came to me and it was natural for me to pick this art form up. Since this time, I have put quills on everything that I wear or carry, when I pray, or do anything that makes me happy. There has not been one time that I have felt unhappy quilling.  If I feel bad on any given day, I will not quill because I do not want to put any negative energy into my work.  I am making medicine for whoever touches it or looks at it.  This dream of quilling is a gift to everyone through me and I try my best to hold this dream sacred.