Through her Grandma’s Feathers Indigenous Art by Trudith Dyer

Trudith Dyer is a citizen of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe and much of her art is connected to her family roots and traditions. Inspired by her great-grandmother, Mollie Holmes Adams, she uses her artwork to teach about Mollie’s legacy and advocates for the Upper Mattaponi people.

The “Reign & Rebellion” special exhibition features two of her paintings, “Grandma’s Cape” and “Paper Genocide.” The latter is displayed at Jamestown Settlement next to a turkey feather mantle crafted by her great-grandmother in the 1930s. Both works were displayed during Jamestown Settlement’s “FOCUSED: A Century of Virginia Indian Resilience” special exhibition in 2020-2021, and previously displayed in the South Carolina Courthouse.

Trudith is a resident of Columbia, South Carolina, and an active member of the Indigenous Women’s Alliance of South Carolina. Both pieces were created in 2019 for the South Carolina SHE Festival, celebrating women in the arts during Women’s History Month, and “Paper Genocide” was shown at the Columbia Museum of Art.

When “Paper Genocide” and “Grandma’s Cape” were originally conceived for the

Paper Genocide

Both “Paper Genocide” and “Grandma’s Cape” are done using red, a favorite color of the artist and one she considers symbolizing power. Drawing on the female empowerment in the arts, Trudith used mixed-media to create a powerful message that represents her ancestor as well as the children, grandchildren and strong women who are a part of the lineage of Mollie Holmes Adams – all of whom are also eligible to be enrolled members of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe.

SHE Festival, the submissions were intended to reflect a woman or women of influence in the life of the artist — someone she considered a “hero.” She immediately knew her work would reflect her greatgrandmother.

When sharing memories of her great-grandmother, Trudith recalled, “My most vivid memory of Grandmom Mollie was her ability to catch a hummingbird in her bare hands. Mollie Holmes Adams feels larger-than-life to her descendants and is known to all for her faith and love for her tribe and family.”

Mollie Adams was the wife of Upper Mattaponi Chief, Jasper Lewis Adams (1923-1973). Her son, Andrew Washington Adams, and her grandson, Kenneth Adams, also were elected to the position of chief in the generations after Mollie’s passing.

“Grandmom Mollie,” as she was affectionately known to her people, joined her husband as a tribal leader and raised 12 children. She fought against the racism and bigotry of Walter A. Plecker, who was head of the Virginia Bureau of Vital Statistics (1912-1946) and systematically worked to reclassify all Virginia Native Americans as “Negro” or “Colored,” subjecting them to the same Jim Crow laws applied to African Americans. Virginia’s 1924 Racial Integrity Act attempted to remove Indigenous people and their cultures from the documentary record.

A lifelong artist, Trudith notes that much of her creative energy was tied to using her creative talents for personal enjoyment or useful projects in her career as a middle school teacher. Today, she continues to research, learn and create art that reflects historical and cultural values as well as tell stories of our community.

Watch a video of Trudith Dyer discussing the inspiration behind her art at jyfmuseums.org/indigenous-art .