Here at Heart Berry, this small business on the Rez, we are committed to Sovereignty. Sovereignty of our community, our culture, our economy, our bodies, and our futures. We love to utilize our cultural art and our space here with you to build that sovereignty. With the power of your support and collaboration of the MN Wonderwall our give backs to the ICWA Law Center and Wakan Tipi donated over $16,000! Just imagine what is possible! At a recent awards ceremony I was inspired to create a scholarship for Native students seeking education past high school. We have so much power to create space that supports our young native scholars and build a future more independent, more sovereign, than we...
Our Ojibwe florals come from the world we are surrounded by. They are a reminder of the foods, medicines, and beauty meant for our good life. When I first started beading I did what a lot of beaders do which is look at beadwork for ideas. But as I began to dig deeper and spend more time outside I could see the whole world is a beader's Pinterest board. Drawing and art can be intimidating because like so many other people, I thought I had to be able to draw European portraiture to be an artist. But when we look at our cultural art as representative, as inheritance, and as the beautiful messaging it us we know we can all...
Once upon a time this group of Native entrepreneurs gathered with tales of inspiration, long hours, big dreams, wild successes, many frustrations, and shared with each other. At Heart Berry we are all about creating spaces. Gathering Abundance was a beautiful evening of our local, small, Native owned businesses talking about our values and purpose as entrepreneurs. We smudged, we ate, great coffee was had. Elder and curator Wendy Savage shared about her lifetime as an arts entrepreneur and the many barriers she has overcome. A long time mentor to me (Giizh) at Heart Berry, Wendy has shown many artists and entrepreneurs how to live their big dreams and opened many doors for a generation. Artist and entrepreneur Michelle Defoe of Star...
At Heart Berry we are all about making art for living! We have been creating work for the KwePack since its inception. Our CEO is one of the founding members of this Indigenous Women's Wellness group. The KwePack has been running races from 5ks to 50 milers since 2010. They have represented in the largest numbers as an Indigenous group to races across the midwest. This past May they hit the road for a half marathon on Madeline Island. Madeline Island is one of our pinnacle village and historic sites and the Kwepack was proud to represent Anishinaabeg at this beautiful event. Representing in new floral gear, check out their fun weekend! Want to learn more about the KwePack? Are...
Across Native Land (everywhere on turtle island) students prepare for the culmination of years of hard work, survival, late nights, and get to stand out as the pride of their family. For many of these students this experience is mixed with the complexity of being a Native person within institutions that do not value or see them. Every year it seems there is a school district taking away Native scholars feathers, telling students they can't wear beaded caps, or excluding our culture from the school. Almost without fail we are forced to advocate on behalf of our community about why we need to be known and seen. We see some institutions doing the work to build in curriculum, staff, and...
