Meet Sally Wells, the Choctaw artist preserving Indigenous culture through beads and crafts

"We want them to know that Indians were here," said Sally Wells, a central figure in the Choctaw community of Tennessee and the newest 2023 artist in residence at the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro.

Wells teaches children intricate Choctaw collar necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and hanging necklaces using seed and bugle beads. Taught by her mother, Wells has proven herself to be a master of a number of critically endangered Tennessee art styles.

"To me, it's just something that I do, it doesn't seem like its work, it's just something that comes to my mind," said Wells.

Originally from Mississippi, she's been doing bead work most of her life. Demonstrating her art at powwows, festivals, and schools. Powwows are one of the ways the Choctaw community connects with their ancestral heritage and celebrates Native American culture through music, dance, art and design.

“The passion and patience she has for sharing her art and cultivating connections with young children make her time with the Discovery Center an invaluable experience for our visitors,” said Taylor Tapley, the community outreach coordinator at the Discovery Center.

The artist-in-residence program, sponsored by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, was developed to promote learning through the arts and to focus on sustainable practices in Middle Tennessee.

“We’re thrilled to host such an icon of Native American culture, art, and heritage at the museum,” said Tara MacDougall, the president and CEO of the Discovery Center. “Creativity plays an essential role for young people to find inspiration in learning, and the opportunity to be guided in hands-on activities by such an important artist is an invaluable experience.”

Wells also served as the artist in residence at the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga where she worked to help introduce children to the rich cultural heritage of Native Americans in Tennessee.

“Children are so naturally inquisitive and eager to absorb so providing a platform for Sally as such a prominent member of the Choctaw Community is crucial in preserving the stories, arts, and traditions of not only Choctaw history but American history,” said Tapley.

Wells is a founding member of the Native American Indian Association and has served for over 40 years. She is also a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a lot of them moved to Ripley, Tenn., and surrounding areas in the 1950s.

"Some kids don’t know what Indian is — they just know what they see on TV. That’s all they know, cowboys and Indians. I wish it didn’t happen, but it happened that way," Wells said in a 2019 interview for the Tennessee Arts Commission. "...They need to know that there were five civilized tribes here. If I asked them who the tribes were, they wouldn’t know. They need education. I’m aging, and I feel like life is too short to not know what you should know."

Teaching children the historical significance of Wells' Choctaw-centered art keeps the culture alive for generations to come.

The Discovery Center at Murfree Spring is a hands-on environmental, cultural, and educational museum in Middle Tennessee's heart. Wells will continue leading workshops and activities at the museum on select Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until April 30.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Discovery Center names Choctaw artist as 2023 artist in residence