PENDLETON — From flowing ribbon skirts to buckskin dresses, three local sisters showcase the beauty and tradition of Plateau Native culture in their latest book.

Sisters Katie Harris Murphy, Anna Harris, and Mary Harris, members of the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Karuk tribes, have released “This Native American Life: Soul of the Dress,” which highlights more than 20 traditional dresses they have made and explores their ceremonial meanings and craftsmanship.

The book features portraits by art and fashion photographer Kyle La Mere, who has documented the sisters’ creative process since 2017.

PENDLETON — The First Draft Writers’ Series is offered in a hybrid format tonight, Nov. 20, starting at 7 p.m. Listeners can attend in person at Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., or join via Zoom — find the link at pendletonarts.org/first-draft. Admission is free. Tonight features “This Native American Life: Soul of the Dress,” a book that highlights the work of the Harris sisters who make traditional beadwork and leatherwork “while having a huge appreciation for western and Indigenous fashion,” according to a press release.

Read more at: https://eastoregonian.com/2025/11/20/join-first-draft-writers-series-on-nov-20-in-pendleton/

The 2025 First Foods Festival will feature interactive and informational tables with Kooskooskie Commons, Mary Harris, Althea Huesties-Wolf, Blue Mountain Land Trust, CTUIR Water Resources Program, and CTUIR First Foods Protection Program. This event will also feature the recently released film “These Sacred Hills” followed by a panel discussion with members involved with making this film including Elaine Harvey, Jeremy Takala, and Bronsco Jim, Jr. This event will end with amazing First Foods hors d'oeuvres by Chef Nimal Amarasinghe and team courtesy of Bon Appétit at Whitman.

Mary Harris performs Shawl Dance at the 2016 Tamkaliks celebration at the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, Wallowa.

Established on September 29th, 1910 in Pendleton, Oregon, the Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo has celebrated Western life and diverse cultures for over a century. As a sponsor of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), Resistol is thrilled to support this vibrant week of heritage, commemorating the spirit of the Old West.

Katie Harris on her horse Ollocot outside of Pendleton, Oregon. Photo is by Deborah Harris. Visit a side of Oregon that offers more than you ever imagined. There are more roads to travel, more trails to trek, more rivers and lakes to kayak, canoe, or float. Enjoy the welcome of small towns and unexpected roadside attractions. Make friends in places you’ve never heard of before. Revel in the solitude and majesty of a landscape that is as overpowering as it is inviting. Where crashing rapids, chirping birds, howling coyotes, and desert winds are somehow peaceful. Whether it’s your first time to Eastern Oregon or a return visit, you are always welcome to experience more.

Keeping Tradition Alive with the Harris Sisters. Harris Sisters Co was founded by sisters Katie, Anna, and Mary in Pendleton, OR. The sisters are from the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Karuk tribes and specialize in traditional beadwork.

A brief history of beadwork

Native American beadwork, like quill work before it, is a decorative art form. Utilitarian goods such as clothing, dwellings, horse gear, and utensils were at one time ornamented with quillwork and beadwork. Over time, the older ways of life have disappeared. Even though clothing and dwelling styles have changed, and the original needs for horse gear and certain utensils have vanished, decorative beadwork continues to flourish.

Today, beadwork has come to symbolize the Native American heritage.

This is the second time I’ve been lucky enough to work with The Harris Sisters out of Pendleton, Oregon. I met them while doing this shoot for Ginew and jumped on the opportunity to work with them again. Here’s their Bio if you haven’t heard of them before:

“HSC is made up of three sisters Katie, Anna & Mary. HSC was started from us wanting to create plateau beadwork while keeping our style as traditional as possible. We have a love for vintage and pre 1950 beadwork. Katie creates beaded buckskin dresses, purses, horse regalia, beaded belts, beaded bracelets & earrings. In the last couple years Anna started tooling leather because she needed an artistic outlet and had a love for the westernlifestyle growing up in Pendleton, home of the Pendleton Round Up. She crossed paths with her now mentor Pedro Pedrini, and has continued to develop her skill in leathercraft recently finishing a set of fully tooled tapaderos. Even in her tooling style she creates our traditional plateau flowers through her leather and also has a love for California style. Mary is the youngest and the main model, sewer & is also a beadworker. We love and want to continue that vibe from that strong era of beadwork where nothing matched but everything matched. HSC sisters are from the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla and Karuk tribes.”

The People of the Horse. From 2011 to 2013 Erika Larsen travelled to many locations in the western U.S. to learn about the significance of the horse in Native American culture. Many people shared their stories and experiences about this connection with her, as well as the word for “horse” in their respective languages. Larsen’s photographs documenting this bond are featured in the March 2014 issue of National Geographic.

Ginew is Native-Americana. We exist at the intersection of being from this land, of this land, and at the forefront of elevating contemporary Native voice in the fashion ecosystem. We design and meticulously build garments that we choose to live our lives in...with inspiration always drawn from who we are as Indigenous people - knowing that in our blood lives the knowledge, stories, and lessons to guide us forward...all the while holding onto brilliant adaptations from the most recent 4-5 centuries. One thing is undeniable...Natives are STYLE. Denim is no exception...and the Harris Sister's from Eastern Oregon are the message: Legendary Style...in the Denim of Dreams.

The PTM Foundation is a platform for artistic collaboration between materialist culture, the arts, and indigenous paradigms. For the video for “Who’s Gonna Stop Me” we created a collaboration between indigenous artists, friends, artistic collaborators, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, and Indigenous organizations to explore the possibilities of collaboration in this new time. To us ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has always been a figure of playful boundary-breaking. His work makes us take less seriously, the things that we take so seriously, like what’s cool, or what’s trendy. ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has been an inspiration for Portugal The Man since their inception until now. In the tradition of the indigenous cultures of the western North American territories, the Coyote represents the trickster and the maker of new worlds. The trickster is an archetype that can be found in nearly all indigenous and ancient cultures; the trickster not only is playful and a comedian but through their playfulness, they connect people. PTM Foundation sees music and art as a similar tool to make new connections and we consider this video to be the beginning of a campaign of many collaborations to come. PTM Foundation strives to forge bridges between the materialist contemporary culture in which we are immersed and the indigenous stewards to whom we strive to give a larger voice.”

A pair of sisters placed first and second in the American Indian Beauty Pageant Friday, continuing a tradition of beauty titles established by their ancestors. Presented on horseback in front of a panel of 12 judges from across the country, 18 contestants ages 14-24 vied for the top spot on Main Street prior to the Westward Ho! Parade. The top four competitors are all from the Pendleton area and members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Before the Westward Ho! Parade on Friday morning, crowds gathered to watch 18 young American Indian women competing in the Pendleton Round-Ups 52nd annual adult Indian Beauty Contest. According to the contestants, the beauty pageant is a tradition families pass down through the generations. It kind of runs in the family, said 17-year-old contestant Rachel Connor. Her sister competed last year, and her mother won the contest in 1977.

Read more at: https://eastoregonian.com/2013/09/12/harris-takes-indian-beauty-contest-title/

Happy Canyon Princess Katie Harris is a horsewoman, and it doesnt take long for a conversation with her to come around to her beloved horse, Ollocut, who was named after the Nez Perce chief and brother of Chief Joseph. The daughter of Stuart and Deborah Harris of Pendleton, Katie has ridden for most of her life and considers her horse a vital partner in her reign. Stories of the parades in which shes appeared always end up including Ollocut. Take, for example, her appearance in the Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade.

Read more at: https://eastoregonian.com/2010/09/07/harris-rides-proud-in-the-saddle/