Artist Joseph Chamberlain and “Fancy Dance” on Apple+TV

“Fancy Dance"

“Fancy Dance", starring Lily Gladstone and Isabel Deroy-Olson, is currently streaming on Apple+ TV. This film focuses on a Seneca-Cayuga girl searching for her missing mother, helped by her aunt. The film was directed by Erica Tremblay, who directed “Dark Winds" and “Reservation Dog."

An interesting article in Variety detailed the set designs by set decorator Tafv Sampson. Sampson suggested using her own aunt’s home as the main set, as it fit Tremblay’s recollection of the homes she knew while growing up on the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma. According to Variety:

Growing up, Tremblay recalled, “In the homes of the folks that I grew up with, specifically Native people, all the homes had an artery-like central hallway and then they had the rooms that come off the side." But that specificity was near impossible to find during the location scout until Sampson suggested her aunt’s house.

Tremblay wanted the home to suggest the creativity of the women who lived there, so quilts, sewing machines, and fabrics are part of the set. She also mentioned a Pendleton blanket that is part of a dance scene:

Artist Joe Chamberlain had designed a Pendleton blanket called “Not Alone." Tremblay hung it in the background as the girls were dancing. “He passed away right before we started shooting, so he never got to see his blanket, but just knowing where it came from and the person behind it, you can’t fake that stuff, and so many people know what it means," Tremblay said.

“Not Alone" by Joe Chamberlain

We were sorry to hear of Mr. Chamberlain’s passing. He contacted us with a special artwork dedicated to the missing and murdered Indigenous women, and worked closely with us to produce a limited edition blanket that he sold on his website.

“Not Alone" speaks to remembering those who have gone missing, with powerful red dress imagery symbolizing the women who have disappeared from reservations. Even though the blanket is no longer available, we wanted to share both the art and the message.

You can see the original artwork at his site: Not Alone

Here how the artwork translated for the blanket loom.

Certain elements were simplified to work with weaving constraints, but the power of the original art comes through. Here are some shots of the finished blanket itself.

As so often happens on a jacquard loom, the reverse is dramatically different, and has its own beauty.

Learn More

“Not Alone” and “Fancy Dance" concern the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. To learn more about this tragic reality, visit:

National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center: Learn More

Native Hope: MMIW 

Joseph Chamberlain’s website: Joseph Chamberlain Art

Read the Variety article here: How Native Culture Inspired ‘Fancy Dance’s’ Set Design Details

The Healing Blanket: Learn More