Blackfeet ornaments at White House

Blackfeet artists' ornaments decorate White House treeWhen Oprah toured the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama made sure to point out several special ornaments, including one bright blue one with beaded snowflakes made by Blackfeet artists.

The Eagle Shield Senior Center was asked to decorate 10 ornaments for the official White House tree. Considering that 800 such balls hang on the lavish tree, it would be easy for their ornaments to fade into the branches.

But in addition to capturing the Obamas' attention and Oprah's cameras, the ornaments will be featured in a special on the Home and Garden Network on Sunday.

After seeing the ornaments, a film crew traveled to Browning two weeks ago to capture the four artists re-creating the ornaments.Comment:  Ten of 800 is about the right percentage of Native ornaments. Always good to see Indians represented fairly--neither too little nor too much.

For more on Indians and Christmas, see Lawton Museum's "Comanche Christmas" and Setting Up the NMAI Holiday Tree.