Artist Profile | Tessa Sayers

We are so excited to introduce you to our newest talented artist, Tessa Sayers, who is the owner and designer of a lifestyle brand called Soul Curiosity.

She is Ojibwe, Cree, and Metis, and I met her a year ago in Portland. She was playing with the idea of launching her own business, and we are so glad she did!

We sat down with her to chat a bit more about how she got started, and what inspires her the most.

Collect and Wear Birchbark Art

In the past year, we've grown close with many local artists who are continuing ancient traditions through cultural adornment and fashion.

One family of artists creates stunning birchbark baskets and necklace medallions that are truly extraordinary.

Brenda and Rebecca Cree, along with Rebecca's son Chuck Stoneboy, create amazing one-of-a-kind pendants and baskets featuring natural birchbark harvested from the Turtle Mountain region in North Dakota.

Ribbon Skirts | Clothing, Strength, and Sacredness

"When you put your skirt on, you're showing Mother Earth who you are." - Myra Laramee (Fisher River Cree Nation)

Last fall, when the Water Protectors stood in solidarity with Standing Rock, I was fortunate to visit the camps on multiple occasions. In preparation for my first visit, I was advised to wear a long skirt because the grounds are sacred and ceremonies were being conducted constantly. The frontline warriors and their supporters needed constant prayers and sacred protection for this dangerous yet important fight.

Artist Profile | Tashina Lee Emery

The world is so big, yet it also can be very small and intimate. I met Tashina years ago when I visited the University of Michigan for an event. The students there were very inspiring, and I'd go on to keep in contact with them. I've seen them ace their finals, graduate, take on competitive internships, and become bright young professionals. And I was so happy when one of them, Tashina, sent me a message last month that she had just launched her own online boutique featuring her handmade jewelry, though she also creates fashion garments.

Artist Profile | Lloree Dickens

LLoree Dickens is the owner, artist, and creative director of LL Designs, which is an online store that sells awesome adult moccasins and adorable baby moccs. She is Arikara and White Earth Chippewa from the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nations). Dickens is also the newest artist to join the Beyond Buckskin Boutique roster with her beautiful beaded footwear. We love what she does, and we wanted to share some behind-the-scenes info with you through an interview. Scroll down to learn more about this rockstar artist who is keeping traditions alive and contemporary.

Video | Powwow Trail

The Ways is a new website that features stories from Native communities of the Great Lakes region. This site is an incredible online educational resource that features videos, interactive maps, and digital media that helps viewers and readers explore contemporary Native culture and language.

'Powwow Trail' is one of the four stories they currently have available on the site. In this beautifully shot video, Dylan Jennings shares a weekend of singing with Midnite Express and dancing at the Oneida Powwow.

Video | Mni Sota

It's the weekend! I know you should be out frolicking, but in case you are not, watch a video! Check out this great video interview with Dyani Reynolds-White Hawk, one of the curators of the art show, Mni Sota: Reflections of Time and Place. The exhibit showcases the skill and beauty of over a dozen artists whose creativity promotes cultural continuity.

"The artists of Mni Sota provide stunning examples of ways in which Native Artists of the Minnesota region continue to embrace the contemporary while supporting tradition."


Click here to read more about Mni Sota.

Chippewow Blossoms | BBB x Mea B'Fly Collab

I have a really cool job. I get to work with Native American fashion designers and artists on a daily basis. I'm hardly an artist, but their creativity inspires me more than they'll ever know.

A couple weeks ago, I was on the phone with one of the artists represented on the Beyond Buckskin Boutique site. Her name is MaRia and she heads up the super fresh Native-centered small jewelry business known as Mea B'Fly. She had an idea to do a collaboration with Beyond Buckskin for an exclusive earring design.

Mni Sota

There is a new exhibit at the Tweed Museum of Art focusing on Native artists from the Minnesota region. Titled, Mni Sota: Reflections of Time and Place, the exhibit showcases the skill and beauty of over a dozen artists whose creativity promotes cultural continuity. "The artists of Mni Sota provide stunning examples of ways in which Native Artists of the Minnesota region continue to embrace the contemporary while supporting tradition."