Dentalium Artist Profile: Holly Young

Taking inspiration from the time she spent living and learning her culture from her grandparents, she credits them with her interest in Dakota and Lakota art and culture. When she began researching her family tree, she came upon a photo of her great-grandmother Teresa Yellowlodge dressed in dentalium.

“That photo stayed with me throughout my life until now,” said Young. “I began working with dentalium about 12 years ago when a late friend who passed away gifted me some shells. Then I tried to figure out how to string up the shells and make them into earrings, using old photos of my grandma and other work as inspiration.”

Young says that dentalium was used for the embellishment and adornment of Dakota/Lakota women. “Embellishment because it was added onto capes, bonnets, pipe bags, jewelry and other material things. And adornment, because the more dentalium you had, the more highly regarded you were. Our people knew the history and trade routes of the dentalium over thousands of miles as dentalium comes from the ocean. They would take the time to file the shells one by one over rocks to get them even and place them on dresses and jewelry.”

Young said that a considerable amount of energy and love surrounded the shells. “Wearing dentalium was an honor. It symbolized our connection and deep respect for our natural resources. The more dentalium one wore would be viewed as someone of honor, highly regarded, of a high status because the shells were so hard to come by at that time. Our people lived on the Plains with no oceans near, so it was admirable to see a woman dressed in dentalium and know where it came from and what it probably took to get those shells home.”

Young says that working with dentalium reminds her of the beauty and meaning of Grandmother Earth.

“It is a precious item to work with for me personally because it is a way for me to respect the journeys that my people have made in seeking out beauty in our natural resources, but also building relationships with other tribes as well as with the land. Finding beauty and meaning in our natural resources is viewing those things as living beings, as things to be respected and honored,” she said. “Living a life of meaning, connecting with our surroundings through reciprocity.”

When she first started working with dentalium, around 2012, she didn’t see it as a trend, but that soon changed. She got her shells from eBay, where her supplier always had an ample and affordable supply.

“Not many artists that I interacted with worked with dentalium, so that made it readily available to an artist like me,” she said. “But as the years passed, more and more artists began using dentalium in their work. Artists from different tribes that historically didn’t use dentalium started using it in their traditional wear.”

That’s when she saw the trend pick up. “Soon, the seller that I was purchasing from moved her prices higher and then eventually ran out of supplies. She stated that as the need for the shells became more prevalent, the shells were starting to be overharvested and were dying out. My artist friends and I were upset about it.”

For several years, she remembers just hoping a source would become available again, and it eventually did.

“It took some time but in the last three years or so, sources have been coming back,” she said. The cost has gone up considerably, she added.“But it’s still worth the price, at least for me.”

Now, however, instead of coming from the Pacific Northwest, she’s seeing the shells sourced from India. “This also means that they aren’t the same kind of dentalium our people traditionally used. However, the shells are still beautiful and for me, I’ll take what I can get when it is a limited resource.”

Young relies heavily on her family and community for inspiration and direction. She honors her Dakota ancestors by revitalizing ancestral art forms and sharing the stories that go with them. She said gifting relatives and loved ones with creations made with dentalium shows respect for those traditions and the history of these shells and instills a sense of pride.

“I have been saving dentalium for years to create a dentalium shell cape and hair ties for my daughter because I want to honor her in this way,” she said. “And also to feel a bit closer to my grandmas who wore these beautiful adornments.”