Jeffrey Gibson's practice seeks to challenge the persisting signifiers and visual cues applied by mainstream representations onto the idea of a singular Native American identity. The beaded appliques ornamenting the canvas of "THE STARS ARE OUR ANCESTORS" are derived from the twentieth-century bead-and-cloth objects produced by artisans of the Tuscarora tribe and often sold to non-Native customers. They were briefly viewed as a status symbol among collectors, appealing to the settler colonial fascinations with Native craft and traditions. Gibson incorporates his own techniques of beading, patterning, and graphic text into the appliques’ designs, including animals, masks, leaves, abstract radials, and statements of affirmation and self-regard.