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Alyssa Songoi (they/them) is a Two-Spirit Oji-Cree from a small community in northern Manitoba, Fox Lake Cree Nation. They grew up learning how to bead at a young age from Elders in their home community. Growing up, Alyssa didn’t really keep up with beading but, in December of 2024, their aunts got them back into it and they started their own business for fun. They mainly bead earrings, but also likes to include keychains, pins, and framed beadwork. Alyssa likes to do traditional, contemporary, and alternative designs for all of their pieces. They believe that beadwork is good medicine and would love to share that with everyone who supports them.

Shi-Anne Bird (she/her) is the 27-year-old maker of Bird House Creations. She is originally from Sagkeeng First Nation Treaty 1, and she currently resides in Winnipeg, MB. She has been creating and selling beadwork and ribbon skirts since 2022. Bird House Creations officially became a registered business in August 2024. 

Creating wearable art has been a way for Shi-Anne to reconnect to her culture and an expression of resilience. As well, through craft sales and vendoring, she has been able to get to know others who are also on a reconnecting journey, and others who have helped her along her reconnecting journey.

Skye McLean (she/her) is a Two-Spirit Cree artist from Winnipeg’s inner city. She began creating beadwork as a university student to help support herself financially, but she quickly fell in love with the intergenerational teachings and cultural connection that come with the art form. Skye has been creating for several years now, working primarily with beadwork, medicine-based pieces, and land-based materials that help her reconnect to culture and the land as an urban Indigenous person. 

Her work is deeply rooted in wellness, resilience, and community care. she enjoys incorporating traditional medicines, natural materials, and bright contemporary designs into her pieces as a way of blending tradition with her own artistic voice. Creating has become a form of healing for her, a way to process grief, strengthen her cultural identity, and build meaningful connections with others. Through her art and community work, Skye hopes to create pieces that make people feel protected, seen, and connected to something larger than themselves.

Elise Chambers (they/she) is a Queer, Red River Métis beadwork artist from Treaty One Territory. Their Métis heritage is passed down from their father Malcolm Chambers. Elise lets their ancestors guide them through their work. Inspired by the prairies, waters, and the 2 Spirit and Queer community, Elise’s work celebrates Métis culture and identity. Through beading, they honor traditions, strengthen community ties, and express their artistic vision.

Janelle Desrosier (she/they) is an AuDHD Michif (Red River Métis) and French-Canadian Two-Spirit mother, entrepreneur, designer, and artist. Janelle was moved to start creating pieces in 2024 after their grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. Their grandmother had died of cancer six years previously, and it brought up a lot of old pain on top of the new. Art was a way for Janelle to process their grief and remember beautiful memories of family. Their pieces since then have explored many experiences and themes that are important to them, such as beauty in nature, joy, Michif culture, queerness, neurodivergence, mental health, and motherhood.

Leo Wolf (she/her) is a 26-year-old Salish artist from the Kanaka Bar Band in Canada. She puts a lot of passion into her artwork and loves learning new ways to create and grow as an artist. After having her baby a year ago, she put her work in the food industry on hold and found more time to focus on her passion for art. Leo began seriously sharing and selling her work at markets about two years ago, and since then has been dedicated to putting her artwork out into the world and connecting with others through creativity.

Lucas Corbin Cole (they/them) is from Couchiching First Nation (Treaty 3) and born and raised in Brandon, MB (Treaty 2). They are now based in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Treaty 1) where they work in the social service and harm reduction sector. As a Two-Spirit, trans, and queer person, their lived experience has been a guiding force in their advocacy work and emerging art practice.  

In late 2023, they took interest in storytelling through illustration where their series, ‘Giiwe; Chasing Wild Strawberries’ came to fruition. In early 2025, this project led them to curating their first solo exhibit with Matter Manitoba, as the gallery’s inaugural artist in residence. During their residency, Lucas facilitated an artist talk and curated a group exhibit featuring only QTBIPOC artists.

Heather and Rachel are Anishinaabekweg and members of Gambler First Nation (Treaty 4) living in Winnipeg. Their business, “Mahkitôn Waabooz Design,” is a sisterly collaboration meaning “big mouth rabbit” in Cree and Anishinaabemowin, referencing a blending of both of their nicknames. Heather and Rachel are self-taught beaders, who began making jewelry together for ceremony giveaways and holiday celebrations.

Born out of good intentions and creativity, Mahkitôn Waabooz Design represents connection to culture, good medicine and empowerment. The community of crafters they are now part of and the relationships they have built since starting this business is something that continues to inspire and motivate them. They pride themselves in offering products that are handmade, high quality, ethically sourced and ensure there are affordable options so that all can proudly carry and celebrate their culture.

Gena Boubard (they/them) is a proud Two-Spirit and non-binary Anishinaabe from Sagkeeng First Nation in Treaty 1 Territory. 

In 2025 Gena established the first Pride Committee in their home community and facilitated Sagkeeng’s first-ever Pride celebration. Gena has built a multifaceted career as a keynote speaker, model, and dedicated advocate for Two-Spirit youth across Turtle Island. 

As Miss Indigenous Canada, Gena has travelled coast to coast, learning from our diverse communities about their histories, cultures, and ways of being. They are deeply honoured to connect with and celebrate inspiring young Indigenous artists, advocates, and community leaders, and to uplift Two-Spirit identities alongside 2SLGBTQQIA+ kin from across Turtle Island.  

Gena began creating dentallium earrings and necklaces in 2024 to fundraise for national and local charities such as We Matter and Sunshine House. The process of creating has become healing and is a great source of pride in Two-Spirit identity for Gena.

Jessica Raven (they/she), is a Two-Spirit 33-year-old mother of two. They are an Indigenous artist from Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation, but resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Treaty 1 Territory. They started Native Royalty in 2017 with just homemade T-shirts and handmade signs for rallies, events, and pow wows. They have expanded over the years to a 3-person business, making Indigenous beadwork, ribbon work, and more. Jessica started this business to bring Indigenous excellence to the forefront. Growing up, they would slowly but surely watch their community suffer and not have a say in how they were treated, so they wanted to start something that showed the beauty of Indigenous art as well as educate people on the injustices Indigenous peoples face here in Canada; and what better way to start that then through art and meaningful conversation. That’s why Jessica started Native Royalty—they wanted to share Indigenous art and connect with their community in any way they knew how.

Jeanette Sayies (she/her) is from Treaty 6 and identifies as Two-Spirit. She has been creating for the past 40 years. She creates Native art-inspired beadwork with seed beads, leather, feathers, chains, porcupine needles, pom-poms, furs, and charms. She loves creating items for others to enjoy and her dream is to follow the pow wow trails, traveling everywhere and sharing her artwork.

Shanelle St. Hilaire (she/they) is a Queer, NonBinary Femme, from the Red River Métis beader, practicing in Treaty One Territory Winnipeg Manitoba. Her beadwork is contemporary, sleek, colourful and for all! Most of their work is woven using a beading loom; the imagery they often create is very geometric using circles to represent moons. Space imagery, such as the solar system and stars, has more recently made its way into their beadwork. They also use the traditional Ceinture Fléchée pattern and reinvent it to honour her Metis culture and community. In 2022, St. Hilaire began loom beading practice to make their own large-scale beaded Ceinture Fléchée which quickly blossomed into a deep love and obsession with beading and is now a part of her daily practice. They started this business as wearable art and expression of self and culture is very important to them.

Shooniiya Mooniikwe (she/him) is a proud Two-Spirit bigender Anishinaabe from Treaty 3 territory. She began learning Indigenous beadwork from her mother as a teen and takes inspiration from her hardworking and perseverant attitude in creating beautiful designs. 

 Spirituality and sacred teachings are featured in her art and jewelry. Precious stones and shells are used experimentally in her unique designs. Inspired from the colors of nature, skylines, and Indigenous culture and couture, she launched Shooniikwe Company with the intention of creating an image—in lines of differing cultures and aesthetic, that blend styles and touch on both age-old and modern traditions. 

Chloe Touzin (they/them) is a Two-Spirit beader, born and raised in Winnipeg. Their family is Saulteaux and French, and they are a member of Little Saskatchewan First Nation. They grew up around women in their family who are beaders and sewers, who inspired them to find their own path in art which took shape with Solstice Beading, beginning three years ago. 

Strawbyy.Artz (she/her) is a self-taught digital and traditional artist from Lac Brochet, now residing in Winnipeg. She identifies as a two-spirit woman, creating original work inspired by other creators, and has been doing art since 2014. To her, art provides a sense of purpose. It helped her during her hardest time, during her own healing journey. She loves art and will keep creating new art.

Hailing from Peguis First Nation, White Faced Wolf Studio is an IndigiQueer owned small business that produces art prints, stickers, and small merchandise like Hand Fans and Keychains. Anastasia (she/they) has been posting art online under the name ‘White Faced Wolf’ for the past seven years and has turned it into a business in the last three years to showcase Anishinaabe Digital Art for other Indigenous youth to see and be inspired.