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Mahota Textiles is the first textile company envisioned and owned by a Native American tribe. We create meaningful textiles that elevate beauty and treasured culture, inspired by our southeast heritage.
 

The Mahota Story

Weaving together generations of tradition

Mahota Textiles is the first textile company envisioned and owned by a North American tribe. We create meaningful textiles that elevate the beauty and treasured culture, inspired by our Southeast heritage. Our textiles tell our stories in expressive imagery and soft, warm woven material.

Legacy of Centuries

The making of Mahota Textiles is the making of a legacy. The threads of our history reveal a colorful weaving together of women and warriors, immigration and removal—centuries of heritage and tradition. Our logo, five irregular concentric circles, is a depiction similar to early hand-carved Native American glyphs discovered in caves and on rocks, and represents five generations of Indigenous women.

The Mahota story can be traced to the kidnapping of a young French girl living in the Southeast in 1736 during a tribal skirmish. For nearly three centuries, she has been known as French Nancy, the eventual bride of Chickasaw warrior Alikuhlo Hosh. They named their daughter Mahota, a word in Chickasaw and Choctaw languages meaning “to separate by hand.” Matrilineal societies of Southeastern tribes placed great value on works created by hand for loved ones and their community. Even their tools were created as beautiful objects in the belief that beauty and power were imparted to everything made from them.

The making of Mahota Textiles

The company’s founder, Chickasaw textile designer Margaret Roach Wheeler, honors the spirit of Mahota and the legacy of creative Chickasaw women: Mahota, Nancy Mahota, grandmother Juel and mother Rubey. Out of this lineage across three centuries of Native American history, Margaret developed as a painter, sculptor, educator, Native historian, and award-winning weaver.

From her earliest business in handwoven fashions to creative textiles in the field of fine arts, Margaret’s art and work continues today in a weaver mentoring studio selling original handwovens, and in the national brand of Mahota Textiles, both as collaborations with the Chickasaw Nation.

It is this legacy—centuries of tradition and craftsmanship handed down through generations of Indigenous makers—that inspires the designs of contemporary Chickasaw artisans of Mahota Textiles.

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Transitioning from Handlooms to Computerized looms

The legacy of Mahota Textiles today is innovation, creating artful, quality products of Southeast tribal designs that are first, and always, beautiful. By transitioning from handlooms that restrict circular pattern-making to computerized looms guided by modern design software, our artisans join trusted industry partners to bring our culture to the world. Every Mahota textile designed is created in Oklahoma by Chickasaw tribal artists and woven from natural materials in the USA.

“We’re makers of art, of story, the threads that connect the inspiration of our ancestors to all of us in a modern world. These tell our stories; these create our brand.”
— President & Founder Margaret Roach Wheeler
 
 

The Mahota Textile’s team

 
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Margaret Roach Wheeler

Our company's founder is an award-winning weaver, fiber expert and textile artist who has received a research fellowship to study at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York and exhibited works at prestigious institutions, including the Museum of Art and Design and the Museum of Contemporary Native Art (MoCNA).

She has earned numerous awards including Best of Class-Heard Museum Indian Market, First place in SWAIA (Santa Fe Indian Market), and Purchase Award at Eitel Jorg. She is the owner of Mahota Handwovens, a weaver mentoring studio, and was inducted into the Chickasaw Hall of Fame in 2010.

Mahota Textiles is the ultimate passion project for Margaret, for which she honors the legacy and heritage of her family. The Mahota name can be traced back to five generations of lineage within her family and it is her dream to honor the spirit and legacy of creative Chickasaw women. 

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Bethany McCord

Bethany McCord is our Business and Development Manager for Mahota Textiles. She is responsible for managing all aspects of the business and serves as a liaison between internal departments and outside organizations.

Before coming on board at Mahota Textiles, she was the first in her family to graduate college and pursue a master’s degree in business administration, later adding a master’s in Indigenous Peoples law to her resume. Her goal was to start a business but was torn between starting a business and leaving the Chickasaw Nation. When she was asked to join the Mahota team, it was a dream come true.

Bethany’s passion stems from her Chickasaw and Choctaw heritage, including a strong cultural identity and a childhood filled with memories of shared stories, language, and delicious traditional recipes.

She encourages her children and the next generation to be strong in who they are, have the heart to serve others and continue to build on the success before them. Bethany is a true gem, and we’re grateful to have her help lead the way at Mahota.

Tia Healey

Tia is the Design and Operations Coordinator for Mahota Textiles with a degree in Graphic Design from East Central University. Her primary role is to research and create designs, ensuring each collection is aesthetically and culturally fitting. Each year, she works directly with our featured artist to coordinate a design that completes our yearly collection. Her other duties pertain to the operations side of the business from shipping and receiving to quality control of each product, along with product promotion on social media.

Tia is most passionate about designing and expressing herself through creative freedom. She loves taking an idea and bringing it to existence. Art and creativity have always been a part of her life. Growing up helping her Papa make arrowheads, bead necklaces, and build things, gave her an early exposure to artistry that inspired a love for creating.

Before coming on board at Mahota, Tia assisted with photography and social media, developing a connection to the Mahota team and our mission. Wanting to be a part of something meaningful, the opportunity to join the team came in 2025 and Tia is proud to be doing work that honors her Chickasaw heritage.

Outside of work, Tia loves spending time outdoors whether it’s by the lake, camping, or simply enjoying nature. She believes that time is the most valuable thing we have, and it's not about money, but about creating memories with the people you love and doing what truly makes you happy. For Tia, the most important things in life are simple: making time for family, pursuing passions, and living in the moment.