Jared Nally

Jared Nally

Jared Nally is a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and piimihkaašikwa, or ‘weaver.’ Jared grew up in Kansas as part of the Myaamia diaspora created through the forced removal of the tribal government from Myaamionki, or ‘the homelands of the Miami.’ The tribe was first removed to Kansas in 1846 before being relocated to present-day Miami, Oklahoma, in 1867. As an adult, Jared began connecting with the Oklahoma tribal community while attending Haskell Indian Nations Univeristy. There, he founded the Haskell Handweavers, a student group interested in textile traditions, and also learned to fingerweave at a workshop with Ho-Chunk fingerweaver, Cindy Warrington. Jared’s personal and community reclamation work on Myaamia textiles has expanded to include other weaving traditions, such as twined bags. 

Jared is currently a Master of Environmental Science graduate student at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an Aanchtaakia Graduate Fellow at the Myaamia Center, a tribally directed research center at the univeristy. Jared’s graduate work focuses on the conservation of Myaamia landscapes through the lens of conserving myaamia relations with the land. Jared’s work as a weaver focuses on how the knowledge and skills of weaving connect to Myaamia landscapes and how material culture is a dual reflection of culture and place. 

Jared joined “Rock Your Beads Night” in 2023. In the 2024 Rock Your Beads virtual exhibit, you’ll find examples of Jared’s work using a variety of materials—both harvested and commercial—which reflect the current and ongoing process of textile reclamation.