this started off as a curiosity in the craft and an interest to learn. what we couldn’t predict was how spiritual and healing this journey would be, both personally and for our family and community.

beading was an art our great grandmother, maria mercredi (tralnberg), was an expert in. our dad tells stories of helping her thread her needle as a little boy and enjoying sitting and watching her bead. we’ve got many pairs of moccasins and mukluks worn by us as children in our homes, but this is where our relationship with the craft really ended. this was not a skill passed down through the generations and that just didn’t sit right with us. keri found and bought a “learn to bead” kit sold by an indigenous artist for each sister. it was a great first step to learning, but the worry of doing the art justice made picking up the needle, thread and beads scary!

a couple months went by and we finally worked up the courage to try. the interesting part was sharing our experiences with one another and realizing our feelings were very similar. This was out of body, this was spiritual, this felt like a skill we’d always known and were always meant to do. before we knew it our basement “games tables” were covered in colourful vials of beads, sketches and inspiration. we called each other nearly daily and would sit in front of a video of one another and bead, hardly even saying a word.

once we got to the point of completing work and sharing it with family and friends was when we realized this project was for more than just us. it moved our father and he continued sharing about his experiences watching his granny. our cousins and other extended family members shared how inspired and excited they were to have some connection to the art form. our existing community shared interest and words of encouragement when we showed what we had been up to, this also opened up a space for us to share some of our family’s history. following all of this the community we have grown to be a part of has been truly rewarding. sharing stories, skills and love with other beaders and kin has healed spaces in our hearts we hadn’t had the time to realize were there. we are so grateful to be able to share our work with you, and every piece holds this story, this energy, this spirituality with it.

- keri & jaymie