Travel Stories

Built on generations of family teachings and ancestral practices, Indigenous artisans and makers across Alberta are creating more than pieces of art. Their work is an act of cultural preservation and celebration of their culture. Crafting with intention and care, these Indigenous artists and makers are reclaiming space, one bead, balm, and brushstroke at a time. 

Loretta’s Wellness Circle – Preserving Knowledge, Promoting Healing. 

Healing begins with intention and from her intimate shop in Calgary, Loretta Tuttauk begins all business with a smudge. For Loretta, a Cree wellness practitioner, Loretta’s Wellness Circle is more than just a business; it’s a way of being. Her handmade lotions, sprays, and balms carry with them intimate family knowledge passed down from her kokum that Loretta is proud to share. 

“Before making any of the products, I smudge myself, my space, and put prayers and intentions so the medicines are all activated with good energy.”

From start to finish, her products carry that good energy. Her individually made products are infused with sweetgrass, sage, and cedar, all hand harvested with the support and guidance of Elders. Each spray, candle, lotion, and balm can take up to eight hours to produce, and includes crafting and spiritual preparation. In a world of mass production, Loretta’s Wellness Circle is a reminder that medicine is not only what we use, but how and why it is made. 

Whether guiding customers through their first encounter with smudge spray, or supporting Indigenous people looking for ways to smudge in restrictive locations, Loretta’s products are a vessel for cultural preservation and spiritual healing. 

Moonstone Creations – A Living Archive 

In the heart of Calgary’s Inglewood district, Moonstone Creation has become a place of Indigenous artistry, heritage, and teaching. Moonstone is rooted in the sacred practice of working with smoked hide and traditional materials. Each piece, from medicine pouches to pleated-toe moccasins carry with them teaching passed down from founder Yvonne Jobin’s mother and grandmother. Every stitch and weave is guided by spiritual intention, mindful silence, and ancestral protocol.

“Everything I make is created with purpose and prayer.” Jobin says, describing a creative process of respect and reverence. Even the scraps from hide work are never discarded but returned to the earth with tobacco and gratitude. Each of the handmade pieces created by Jobin are unique treasures that are all meant to carry meaning into the hearts and homes of every customer. 

The smell of smoked-hide moccasins, the feel of beaded medicine bags, or the practicality of a unique business card holder all become deliberate acts of cultural preservation to be shared with the world.

“It’s going to go where it needs to go,” she says. “The right piece always finds the right person.”

Sweetgrass Crafts – Rooted in Tradition, Remained for today.

What began as a personal act of reclamation for Julianna Hannah, founder of Sweetgrass Crafts has grown into an internationally recognized celebration of Indigenous identity through beadwork. Raised off-reserve and seeking visible ways to connect with her Cree roots, Hannah began creating modern beadwork jewelry to wear to quietly say “I belong.” Rooted in tradition, but reimagined for the everyday, her work blends such classic Cree elements as leather and porcupine quills with contemporary style and materials, resulting in accessible pieces sold online that resonate across cultures. 

“Beadwork isn’t just a luxury, it’s daily armour, a talisman, and a conversation starter,” Hannah says. “I want people to feel seen, protected, and proud when they wear it.”  

A message and purpose that has resonated globally. Today her designs have been sold in more than 30 countries, with her majority of sales coming from international buyers.  For Hannah, this global success and demand honours her kokum’s memory by creating bridges of understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities around the world. Every beaded piece is a connection to family and spark in the ongoing story of Indigenous artistic resurgence. 

Four Winds Indigenous Showcase and Market – Curating culture and celebration

Tony and Melissa Tootoosis are an artistic power couple. Whether it’s celebrating the vibrancy of Indigenous fashion or showcasing Indigenous song and dance to the rhythmic pulse of powwow drums, Four Winds Indigenous Showcase and Market is preserving, sharing, and celebrating generations of cultural knowledge. In addition to their own talents and art, Four Winds is a family-driven business in calgary that connects other Indigenous artisans, dancers, models, and musicians with meaningful opportunities to share their culture across the province. 

The Four Winds network of artists curates experiences that includes beadwork, vendors, powwow showcases, youth modeling workshops, and corporate education programs, all designed to celebrate and teach in an accessible way.

“I try to communicate in a way that’s understandable for non-Indigenous people.” Tony says “With humor and story.”

Four Winds is a living testament to the reality that Indigenous art is not static, but ever evolving, growing, and educating for todays audiences. 

The Bead Lodge – More than a Marketplace, it’s a Meeting place

What began as a small beading business in a basement, nurtured through family powwow regalia, is now a 3,000 square foot space where people can come and be proud of who they are together. The Bead Lodge is more than just a storefront in Grand Prairie — it’s a living, breathing, cultural hub where visitors are invited to touch hides, smell herbs, sip coffee, share stories, and take part in beading nights.

“We’re normalizing culture and tradition in our own spaces, language, crafting, gathering,” Founder Fran Rogers says. “It’s not a class, it’s a community.”

Despite the name, The Bead Lodge is more than just beads. The space itself is filled floor to ceiling with handmade moccasins, pelts, soap, books, beadwork, and paintings from Indigenous artisans across Alberta, B.C., and the Yukon, each creation holding hours of work and centuries of tradition. 

With regular craft nights, educational drop-ins, and interactive experiences like DIY hide pouches, The Bead Lodge embodies the modern face of Indigenous arts and cultural resurgence. It is a warm, communal, and welcoming, for the curious non-Indigenous visitor and the Indigenous community to reconnect together. 

“This space isn’t just mine, it’s ours, a network where Indigenous artisans, stories, and skills can be shared, respected, and celebrated.”

Native Diva Creations – Head to Toe: Couture and Culture

Native Diva Creations is the embodiment of the global and growing reach of Indigenous fashion. A self-taught Blackfoot designer from Calgary, Melrene Saloy has redefined what it means to wear heritage. Drawing from the teachings of her community, Saloy has brought Blackfoot beadwork to the runways of New York and Paris. 

“Everything I create carries that blood memory,” Saloy says. “Whether it’s high fashion or daily beadwork, it’s always connected to who I am and where I come from.”

Her work has now expanded into full couture collections, showcasing her and her people’s story from head to toe on some of the biggest stages on the planet. Her designs incorporate sacred elements like sweetgrass and sage directly into the garments, making each piece a form of wearable medicine. Every piece is both a fashion statement and an act of cultural education, balancing accessibility with respect. 

“If I didn’t want you to wear it, I wouldn’t make it. If it was ceremonial, I wouldn’t be selling it.” With 70 per cent of her clients being non-Indigenous, she sees her work as a bridge and a way to spark conversations about cultural protocol, beauty, and resilience. From Milan to Paris, she has challenged stereotypes and expanded global awareness of Indigenous fashion as both modern and ancestral. Native Diva Creations reminds us that fashion is more than just fabric, it’s a story sewn in ceremony and pride.