Meet Our President and Founder Margaret Roach Wheeler
Have you met our President and Founder, Margaret Roach Wheeler?
Margaret is an award-winning weaver, fiber expert, and textile artist. Though her background in fine arts began with paintings and sculptures, she always saw the beauty in weaving as an art form when many saw it as a utilitarian skill.
Margaret started hand-weaving in 1977 while taking a textile class in her master’s program at Pittsburg State University. Internationally known Marjorie Schick was her professor and mentor, and she taught each of her students that if they did an excellent job and were creative in their art production, they could be seen anywhere in the world.
Margaret’s work has been displayed in the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, NY, the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, and more. Of her accomplishments, she said, “You have to believe in what your artwork can become.”
How Margaret Grew the Mahota Name
In 1984, Margaret started her hand-weaving business, Mahota Handwovens. At that time, weaving wasn’t yet considered a mainstream art form, and she traveled with her portfolio to museums around the country to showcase her textiles.
She began to get featured in museums and art shows and from that, her business grew. In addition to paving the way for her own business, she also contributed to getting fiber creations recognized as an art form.
As the only Native American designer at that time with a line of handwoven clothing, she wanted to weave designs that were used in her culture. Southeastern Tribal designs include circles and curvilinear lines that can’t be created on a handloom. She thought weaving on computerized looms felt less creative, but she had a strong desire to spread awareness of her culture’s traditional designs.
This led her to begin the transition of her Mahota Handwovens business into a new business venture in partnership with Taloa Underwood and Bethany McCord - Mahota Textiles.
Why “Mahota”?
Mahota was Margaret’s great-great-great-grandmother who came from Mississippi during the Chickasaw Removal to Indian Territory in 1844. Having an ancestor who came at Removal is a significant part of Margaret’s family history, and when she opened her hand-weaving business, she decided to use Mahota’s name.
Margaret’s family lineage also inspired the design of the Mahota Textiles logo, which depicts rings of a tree in honor of five generations of Chickasaw women in her family. The logo’s center ring is Mahota. The next ring is for Mahota’s daughter Nancy Mahota, followed by Margaret’s grandmother Juel, Margaret’s mother Rubey, and finally Margaret as the final outermost ring.
“My family history is very important to me, and I think we have honored it nicely. Everyone has said that we have a story, and we are excited to tell it here,” said Margaret.
When Margaret isn’t weaving, designing, or otherwise working on her business, she enjoys cooking for friends and family. She enjoyed having extra time at home during the pandemic that allowed her to cook and read.