Jack Theis
is an Anishinaabe-Michif beadworker and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. While his ancestors were from the Red River of the North, he was born and raised in Dallas and spent his late teens and early 20s in France and Romania. At 23, he moved to Minneapolis where he first learned to bead. Jack continued to learn beadwork after moving to Winnipeg in 2017 where he majored in Native Studies and minored in Native languages. He approaches most projects from an academic perspective, thoroughly researching histories, ideas, and questions which he expresses or responds to with beadwork. Jack hopes to expand his beadwork practice by incorporating a variety of other media and techniques including porcupine quillwork, caribou hair tufting, and silk and moose hair embroidery. Jack sees the beaded medallion in Native fashion as a versatile accessory that can easily be considered a cornerstone of both Native street wear, regalia, and high fashion. Proof of Natives peoples wearing medallions is made evident by the miniature beaded medallions worn by Cree dolls made in the late 18th century, as well as in early watercolors of life in the Red River Settlement, in which Métis men are depicted wearing colorful quilled breast plates. As such, Jack considers the making of medallions to be part of a long-standing culturally significant tradition.
