Kawenniiosta (Yosta) Boots
Branigar Fellow 1996-1997
Kawenniiosta Boots (Yosta) is a traditional Onondaga Iroquois from the Onondaga
Reservation, just south of Syracuse, NY. She holds an Associates degree in Commercial
Illustration from Cazenovia College and a Bachelors Degree in Art History and Anthropology
from the State University of New York at Potsdam.
Yosta has recently completed internships at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in
Pittsburgh, working on the ALCOA Hall of Native Americans, and the Iroquois Indian Museum
in Howes Cave, NY. While in residence, she engaged in day-to-day collections management
work, museum studies, and increasing her knowledge about southwestern Native American arts
and cultures.
She hopes to learn more about Native American arts and cultures from throughout the United
States, continue her education in a museum studies graduate program, and use this
knowledge to start a tribally operated Iroquois Museum representing the five tribes of the
Iroquois Confederacy.
Previous Fellows:
Edsel Brown
2000-2001
Miles Miller 1999-2000
Cindy Burnett
1998-1999
Ron Martinez Looking Elk
1997-1998
Kawenniiosta Boots
1996-1997
Tony Chavarria
1995-1996
