Jereldine "Jeri" Redcorn (born November 23, 1939) is an Oklahoman artist who single-handedly revived traditional Caddo pottery."Jeri Redcorn, Traditional Caddo Potter."
''Caddo Mounds State Historic Side.'' 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.

Background

Jereldine Redcorn was born on 23 November 1939 at the Indian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her father was Caddo, and her mother was Potawatomi. Redcorn grew up in

Colony, Oklahoma Colony is a town in northeastern Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 136 at the 2010 U.S. census, a decrease of 7.5 percent from 147 in 2000. It was named for the Seger Colony, founded in 1886, which taught modern agricultu ...

, living on the allotment lands of her Caddo grandmother, Francis Elliot."Reviving a Lost Tradition."
''Texas Beyond History.'' Retrieved 28 July 2012. Her tribal name is Bah-ha Nutte, meaning "River Woman." She graduated from Colony High School, then earned a bachelor of science degree from

Wayland Baptist University Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas ( Southern Baptist Convention). Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, s ...

in Plainview, Texas and her master's degree from the Pennsylvania State University in

University Park, Pennsylvania University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was ...

Revival

In 1991, Redcorn and fellow members of the Caddo Cultural Club visited the Museum of the Red River in

Idabel, Oklahoma Idabel is a city in and county seat of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,010 at the 2010 census. It is located in the southeast corner of Oklahoma, a tourist area known as Choctaw Country. History Idabel was estab ...

. There they saw hundreds of precontact Caddo pots, which even the tribal elders were completely unfamiliar with. "That day we were so excited that we decided as a group, as a tribe, we would learn how to do it and make Caddo pottery once again," Redcorn said. Her brother taught her the basics of coiled pottery. With extreme difficulty, she learned burnishing and engraving techniques.

Artwork

In 1991, Redcorn began experimenting and teaching herself how to make pottery using traditional Caddo methods, which involve coiling the clay and incising for decoration."New Acquisition: Clay vessels by Native American potter Jeri Redcorn added to Smithsonian collections."
''Smithsonian Science.'' 28 April 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2012. She uses metal or bone tools to incise her pots with ancestral Caddo designs and hand fires them, instead of using a commercial

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

. To add color, she rubs red clay into the incised designs.

Collections

Redcorn's pottery is found in several public collections, including the following: * Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum * Oklahoma History Center *

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

George Gustav Heye Center The National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is part of the Sm ...

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

. In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama displayed a pot by Jeri Redcorn, ''Intertwining Scrolls'', in the White House.

Personal life

Redcorn was married to Charles Redcorn, an Osage Nation author. Together, they lived in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, b ...

until his death in 2017.

Notes

External links

Redcorn Pottery
official website * , video of Jeri Redcorn by the National Museum of the American Indian
Oral History Interview with Jereldine Redcorn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redcorn, Jeri Living people 1939 births Native American potters Artists from Oklahoma People from Norman, Oklahoma People from Washita County, Oklahoma Caddo Potawatomi people Women potters American women ceramists American ceramists 21st-century American women 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native Americans