Cindy Bowman is a member of the Osage Nation.  She is also the co-owner of The American Indian Company in City Market, Raleigh, NC.  She is originally from Newport News, VA but has lived in Raleigh since 1980.

Through her ribbonwork art, she hopes to bring an appreciation of the many hours of handwork done by many talented native people of the past as well as the present.

Many people recognize the artistry of native people in pottery, beading, artifacts, as well as jewelry, but few look at sewing techniques as Native American art.

Ribbonwork demonstrates just such technique.  Many tribes have a history of ribbonwork but the Osage have kept it alive throughout their history.

Growing up in a family of seamstresses and crafters, Cindy developed a love for handwork of all kinds. Many years of art classes helped improve her abilities and grow her imagination.  Her mothers family were millwork employees from the Carolinas .  So sewing and handwork were a large part of their lives.  Many of her sewing techniques came from her mother and grandmother.  And like many Carolinians there is a Cherokee great-grandmother as well on her mothers side of the family.  We just  have very little information about where she came from since she was adopted. 

But being a registered Osage she does know of her great-grandmother Eliza Fronkier a true seamstress by trade. Eliza grew up in the Osage Mission School in Neosho , Kansas , where she learned fine hand sewing from the French nuns who raised her.  After leaving the school she began a business of sewing fine clothing for the women of her town.  She did this work until she lost her eyesight at a young age.

With this knowledge of her family, Cindy decided she wanted her artwork to represent her legacy of handwork and since the Osage Ribbonwork is made from fine sewing techniques she decided to use those designs in her paintings.  The idea of the feather as her medium came from working with bird of prey in a rehab and the knowledge of what the eagle feather represents to Native people.  The traditional coop feather was an award given for a honorable act of a warrior for others.  And since the history of the men in her family has been military and fighting for their country she felt this would also honor their memory as well.

Through the shop she has been able to produce not only her art but many other handmade items that she enjoys making.  Shawls, ribbonshirts, fans, beaded purses, beadwork jewelry, feather earrings and much more. Currently she is working on beautiful quilted jackets with native theme fabrics, many of which are not found in general cloth stores.  She is always looking for new and modern ways to show off her Indianess without dreamcatchers or turquoise.