NWT Arts

I come from a long line of beadworkers: my aunts are all beaders as well as my grandma and great­grandma. As a kid, we learned beading basics when I was in school. I started making earrings on my own in 2018, and in 2021 I took part in a beaded slipper course at the Friendship Centre in Yellowknife and I just kept beading more seriously after that. I want to carry this important family tradition with me. 

Since I started beading, I learned to do wrap-arounds with my mom. She's also been teaching me how to tan moose hides in the traditional Dene way. My grandma and great-grandma were also master tanners. My grandma used to work on hides at the cabin during the summer. It's a core memory of mine, and now I love that I also get to work on the material that I use for my artwork from start to finish. 

I didn't even have my ears pierced before I started beading, but I got them pierced so I could wear beaded earrings! I make a lot of earrings with my ombre signature style. I'm very drawn to sunrises and sunsets, so I love designs that incorporate layers of colours fading into each other. My grandma taught me to pick my bead colours during the day, when the light is brightest. I use 24 carat gold findings or 14 carat white gold when I want a silver look. 

Along with earrings, I've also been doing a lot of geometric uppers, which is a traditional style that a lot of Dene Elders make. I have started to learn tufting as well. Similar to traditionally tanned moose hides, it was difficult to find specific colours of caribou hair, so I've been dying my own and making that available to other artists since 2023. 

My spouse and I run a store called Mahsicho in Yellowknife. During the pandemic, we started organizing vendor-less pop-up shops at our Booster Juice store to get people to connect. After we witnessed the success of those events, we just created a display area where artists can drop off pieces by commission. We now sell supplies for artists as well. 

The tradition of getting together as a group with friends and family to learn something is a central part of Dene culture. Working on a hide together at the cabin is the kind of project that brings us together as a family. When I work on moose hide or when I dye caribou hair for my artwork, I never work alone. There's always a friend or a family member there to help me or to work alongside me. By staying connected to each other and using everything available to us, we stay connected to the land and to our culture in meaningful ways.