Margaret Wheeler

from Artist Reception - Margaret Roach Wheeler

Award-winning fiber expert Roach-Wheeler designs and creates handwoven textiles and garments that have been shown in museums in Oklahoma, New Mexico, New York, Indiana, Colorado and Arizona. The Chickasaw-Choctaw Native began creating garments as a child and discovered weaving while earning her master's degree in textiles. She started Mahota Handwovens in 1984.

“The spirit of my great-great-great grandmother Mahota flows through the designs that I create with the loom,” said Roach-Wheeler. “As a Native artist, my research of ancient tribal cultures is ongoing; I blend historical motifs with modern style and artistry. Natural fibers like cotton, wool and linen that were once used by my ancestors are as important to my weaving as the design work of my museum pieces or Mahota contemporary fashions.”

Roach-Wheeler was selected as one of four Native American fashion designers to speak at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York, and has won numerous awards for her handwoven garments and unique woven sculptures at Red Earth Indian Market, Santa Fe Indian Market and Heard Museum Indian Market. She continues her work today from her studio at the ARTesian Gallery and Studios in Sulphur, Oklahoma, creating new textile designs and mentoring the next generation of weavers.

• 2010 Chickasaw Hall of Fame Inductee - Margaret Roach Wheeler, Chickasaw-Choctaw Artist
• Profile of Margaret Roach Wheeler: "Mahota" Chickasaw
• Margaret Roach Wheeler - MAHOTA Handwovens
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