Silversmith Jean Roach and daughter Glenabah Tulley elevate Native art at LNI

RAPID CITY – Respected silversmith and community organizer, Jean Roach, was featuring her handmade jewelry at the Lakota Nation Invitational, sharing the booth with her daughter Glenabah Tulley owner of Tulley Quilts.

Roach (Mnicoujou Lakota) said the price of sterling silver has gone up and this has impacted the production of silver products. “It like sixty-six dollars an ounce. When I first started it was probably about ten dollars an ounce. That was way back, maybe thirty years ago. The high I’ve seen it I think was back in the two-thousands when it was forty-five dollars an ounce.” Roach said the last time she had bought silver it was about forty dollars an ounce, “which is still kind of a high price for me. So, right now, I don’t have as much silver product as I should.” Roach said she has been focusing more on beadwork.

Roach displayed a handcrafted necklace with inlaid copper in silver. “Each one of those is cut by hand.” She pointed out that she signs her silver jewelry with a “J” on the back of every piece to authenticate each piece. “That way, a customer who is purchasing from me can know that they aren’t buying something that was mass-produced.”

Roach learned silversmithing from her Dine husband. She has created her own style blending traditional turquoise with stone setting.

Roach has passed her artistic talent to her daughter Glenabah Tulley, who is a quilter and the owner of Tulley Quilts. Her wife Tonya helps to run the business. Tulley, like her mother, also incorporates Native designs and symbols in her work. “Because I am Lakota and Navajo, I use elements of both in my creations.” She said when she was growing up Pendletons were popular in Navajo country and the star quilt was popular in Lakota country. So she decided to put them together.

Tulley explained how the stitching adds a unique element. “This quilt here that has the roses, notice how I used a stitching pattern that mimics the roses. And here, this quilt features butterflies so the stitching pattern matches the butterflies. Also, one side of each quilt features a soft Pendleton design.”

The Tulley’s said they sold out of product every day of the LNI. They are also offering a graduation special through April of 2026. Interested persons can visit their Facebook page.

The Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center explains that Lakota star quilting is a significant traditional art form that symbolize honor, generosity, and the circle of life. The art form continues to thrive today. Star guilts are highly valued gifts of honor and are often central to giveaways at naming ceremonies, graduations, funerals, and honoring. They are also sometimes used as door coverings in ceremonies.

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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