H’Klumaiyat-Roberta Kirk (Warm Springs) is a traditional regalia maker and food gatherer who does traditional Wasq’u and Tenino bead and dentalium work and makes Plateau shell dresses as well as moccasins and more. She is a designated food gatherer for the Simnasho Longhouse in Warm Springs, runs sweats, serves as Archives and Museum Collections Manager for the Museum at Warm Springs, and has consulted for museums on Native American artifacts.
Bio
H’Klumaiyat-Roberta Kirk is Wasq’u and Tenino on her mother’s side and Diné (Navajo) on her father’s, is a traditional regalia maker and food gatherer who does traditional Wasq’u and Tenino bead and dentalium work and makes Plateau shell dresses as well as moccasins and more for men, women, and children. Kirk also makes traditional white buckskin burial outfits to honor those who have passed. She is a designated food gatherer for the Simnasho Longhouse in Warm Springs, runs sweats, serves as Archives and Museum Collections Manager for the Museum at Warm Springs, and has consulted for museums on Native American artifacts. Kirk, who has worked in a variety of museum positions and was the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs NAGPRA coordinator for many years, has also been a specialist for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Kirk works in the Plateau beadwork tradition, creating exquisitely designed beaded shell dresses and dentalium regalia such as breastplates and necklaces. She began to make her own regalia after most of her family’s possessions, including her grandmother’s handiwork, were lost in a fire. As she has said, in order for her to have powwow dresses, she had to learn to make her own. Her work is impeccable with fine detail, compelling colors, and intricate designs traditional to her Tenino and Wasq’u cultural heritage. With an eye to cultural continuity, she passes along that knowledge to the younger generation—to her granddaughters, to community members, to other Plateau people, and to apprentices. Kirk has poured herself into the preservation of Native heritage and integrity in her professional endeavors. Her deep personal experience as a master beadworker/regalia maker, a background in cultural anthropology and museum studies, and a fine arts degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts have all contributed to her career path as an artist and museum professional. Kirk does not separate her work in one area versus another; they are of a piece. Her deep cultural knowledge enables her to imbue her regalia making with spirit and devotion. She has taught her apprentices bead and dentalium work, and she’s conducted Plateau powwow dress-making workshops for Tribal women in Washington State and Oregon. Not only does she teach anyone who wants to learn, she is eager to learn more—she’s explored apprenticing herself to other traditional Tribal artists to stretch and challenge herself. She enjoys refining her knowledge and creation of traditional art forms, from dentalium shellwork to new moccasin designs. Several organizations, both state and national, have recognized the extraordinary value of Roberta Kirk’s artistry and sustainer of cultural heritage. She has several times served as a master artist for Oregon’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program and remains active in community educational programs and programs at The Museum at Warm Springs. Her work has been exhibited throughout the region in several well-respected museums and internationally. Kirk joined OFN staff and Kalapuya traditional storyteller, Esther Stutzman, for a virtual international cultural heritage exchange with Romania, thanks to a 2020 award from the Communities Connecting Heritage Program of the US Department of State’s World Learning division. H’Klumaiyat Roberta Kirk was also the recipient of two prestigious and highly competitive awards in 2020: The First People’s Fund Community Spirit Award and the Oregon Governor’s Arts Award, both for her artistry within the context of her fostering and preserving her cultural heritage. In 2022, the High Desert Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is planning an exhibit that will feature some of Kirk’s extraordinary regalia (dresses, moccasins, men’s outfits, and more), which showcase her fine bead and dentalium work. Kirk treats her art with an intentional legacy: "I want to create something beautiful to hand down to my grandchildren and they in turn pass to their children and so on."
