Krystle Muntz, Citizen of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe and Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation
Date2022
Artist
Will Wilson
(American photographer, born 1969)
MediumArchival pigment print from wet plate collodion scan
Dimensionsimage: 19 3/8 × 15 3/8 in. (49.2 × 39.1 cm)
sheet: 22 × 17 in. (55.9 × 43.2 cm)
sheet: 22 × 17 in. (55.9 × 43.2 cm)
Credit LineF. V. du Pont Acquisition Fund, 2022
Object number2022-60
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPHOTOGRAPH
Label TextMy grandfather, Alvin Muntz, created beadwork. If you visit the Nanticoke Indian Museum, you can see his work. I learned loom beading first, but bead work on a loom is very square or boxy, which is not ideal for butterflies. I taught myself to create applique-style bead work so I could have my butterfly design and started more complex designs over time. But I have never done anything as large as my grandfather’s work. When I started as a jingle dancer, you couldn’t find pink, purple, or butterflies. If that’s what you wanted, you had to make it yourself. A friend made the jingle dress using my colors and butterflies, and I added the beadwork. The jingles are snuff can lids rolled up—the wider they’re rolled, the louder they are. This dress is loud! The jingle dress dance has a healing origin. The cones (shape) represent teardrops which are added to the dress with a prayer every day of the year plus one for the next year—the future. The sounds from the cones promote the good feelings for healing.
Native regalia (outfits) tell a lot about the person wearing it—their personality, importance of family, where they're from, and tribal affiliation. I beaded a piece (with a deer) to honor my dad when he passed away and I wear it every time I dance. He was a deer hunter named Deer Tracker. My symbol is the butterfly, and my favorite colors are blue, pink, and purple. My family and tribe are from the East Coast, which is represented by the dogwood flower.
—Krystle Muntz
