Each One Inspired artist Grant Wade Jonathan is a Tuscarora-raised beadwork artist and an attorney, who currently works in the EPA's American Indian Environmental Office in New York City. When he is not assisting the Haudenosaunee in addressing their environmental concerns, he pursues his other passion of Tuscarora raised beadwork design.
Jonathan grew up on the Tuscarora Reservation near Niagara Falls, New York. “Throughout my childhood, my mother Lorraine always encouraged my creative talent. When I became a teenager, she passed down the tradition of Tuscarora beadwork, showing me how to make earrings, barrettes, small purses, and ornaments.” After his mother's death in 2006, Jonathan returned home to Tuscarora to be with his family, commuting from Buffalo to NYC for work. While home, he took advanced adult beadwork classes taught by Rosemary Hill and was fortunate to sew regularly at her home, where he perfected advanced skills and techniques. (Excerpted from http://www.gerrybiron.com, 17 August 2022.)
Jonathan's lecture is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Each One Inspired: Haudenosaunee Art across the Homelands from the New York State Museum, on display at the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery from October 17 to December 10, 2022.
Jonathan's Pinterest page presents hundreds of examples of Indigenous beadwork, including Tuscarora raised beadwork and "whimsies"; a CBC story from 2019 details his extensive efforts to purchase and repatriate Tuscarora beadwork. "I find every piece that I can. No matter what condition it's in, I'll buy it and bring them home."