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It was while
living on a Lakota Sioux reservation that Chuck "Winter Heart" Reddick
learned the Plains Indian culture and the techniques for making
the traditional Native American war shirts for which he is known
today.
Reddick makes
shirts which are cherished by collectors of Native American
art as unique and stunning wall art – his clients
include the famous and not-so-famous. Reddick
has also created dance gear for many Native American
dancers; in 1992 he made the outfit that Kevin
Hagan, of the Yurok Nation, danced in in Washington,
D.C. In 1994 Reddick won the "Best of Show" for a
bow quiver and shield at the Best Western and
Indian Show held in Pasadena, California.
Reddick's
pieces are meticulously fashioned using the traditional Native
American techniques he learned on the Sioux reservation. The
leather is antiqued and smoked to achieve the beautiful dark
tanned, worn appearance. The dyes he uses on his war shirts'
hides are from plants and minerals such as the red from the prickly
pear juice, the yellow from Mormon Tea and the purple from sweetgrass.
The beads he uses are antique trade beads attached with traditional
Native American techniques such as the "lazy stitch";
roughly 100 beads fill a square inch.
A self-described "mountain
man," Reddick has been involved with pre-1840's historical
re-enactments for the past fifteen years and is a member of one
of the oldest black powder clubs in the United States.
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