Woodpecker Forked Eye Ring

Southeastern Mound Builder Woodpecker designs can be found on gorgets & pottery from different mounds in the southeast during the Mississippian era. The woodpecker is the symbol of a messenger, which I like to believe is a way for our ancestors to speak to us.

Rykelle “Ahlazua” Kemp (Choctaw, Mvskoke Creek-Euchee & Diné) creates wearable art with a modern and traditional approach. Her work represents ancestral knowledge attained from her tribes in the Southeastern Woodlands and the Southwestern Deserts. She works with materials and techniques that have been used in her tribes for countless generations. Kemp incorporated shell, pearls, carving and etching techniques from the Southeast & combines that with tufa casting, silver & turquoise from the Southwest. Because of her unique approach to jewelry making, Rykelle has developed her own distinct style. Modern, handmade, Indigenously beautiful: Indigenous Woman Made