Adele ᒪᐢᑿᓱᐤᐏᐢᑵᐤ Arseneau
Adele Arseneau is a disabled Nehiyaw/Michif multi-disciplinary artist who creates bespoke works for galleries, private collections and public art commissions. Having over 40 years of lived experience in her culture, she is a recognized knowledge keeper and respected Elder. Grounding her artwork in story and engaging audiences by weaving connection to cultural, social and environmental issues. It was the way her family taught her to learn and share knowledge. Displaced from her family’s traditional territory of Northern Saskatchewan, Adele grew up with the Dakelh (Carrier) people of British Columbia in Prince George, and Fraser Lake.
Alex Ibbotson
Anishinaabe/Cree/Iroquois/Nakota Métis, and Scottish, Alex is a traditional and contemporary beadwork artist who taught herself to loom bead at the age of ten. Alex’s family, Louis (dit Assiniboine) Patenaude (Bottineau) and Catherine Mondion/Patenaude(Bottineau)/Simpson were Rocky Mountain Métis Guides in the mid 1800’s (Cheadle, 1864) and another ancestor George Brass was a signatory on Treaty 6. Alex enjoys making and wearing her art as an act of resistance, bringing Métis visibility to spaces where Métis are less represented such as the outdoor industry and government Indigenous advising roles in BC.
Amber Rattlesnake
Amber Hamelin Rattlesnake is a Métis textile artist from British Columbia, with family roots in the Red River and Qu’Appelle Valley Métis communities. Skilled in beadwork, embroidery, and sewing, she learned her craft from her mothers and grandmothers and holds a diploma in Fashion Design. Mentored by notable Métis artists, she uses traditional beading techniques to create modern heritage pieces that honor and preserve Métis culture. Her work, including wall pockets and tobacco bags exhibited at the Amelia Douglas Institute, reflects a deep respect for storytelling, tradition, and the enduring spirit of Métis artistry.
Follow Amber on:
Instagram
Corrine Donnelly
Corinne Donnelly dishinikawshon. Clearwater, BC dooschiin, pi Salt Spring Island niwiken. Aen famme michif pi english pi chinese niya.
My name is Corinne Donnelly (Coco). I’m a Métis, English, and Chinese artist based on Salt Spring Island, BC. I build hand drums & drum beaters, create custom drum paintings, offer tattoo, and explore the sacred through art.
For the past six years, I’ve been building drums, a path that began with ceremony and evolved into a deep relationship with this ancestral medicine tool. Taught by my friend Eric Jensen, I’ve developed my own intuitive style—wrapping crystals in leather, adorning drums with paint, leather and fur, and painting from a place of spiritual connection.
Follow Corrine on:
Instagram
Earlene Bitterman
Earlene is a Red River Métis graphics artist, cartoonist and digital animator born in Pouce coupe BC to a traditional Métis family and raised in various communities in the north. She developed her artistic skills living in remote communities on the Dempster highway NWT, stikine river and Haida Gwaii. She has successfully published a series of Michif animations and is a contributing artist in a Indigenous Northern learning to read series which received the Lieutenant governor's award for literacy.
Greg McGillis
Vancouver resident Greg Mcgillis is a self-trained Métis artist. His interests include painting, carving, photography and writing. He enjoys playing the harmonica but is not sure others do. His Métis names are Desjarlais, Dumont, Labelle and Whitford. Greg has been practicing this painting technique, with ink and watercolors on paper, since 2013. With this "eyecatcher" series, he wanted to create beautiful, amusing pieces that really pop. His detailed brush strokes are what bring the glow to the paintings and his outlook, the smile. Greg finds painter/musician John Lurie an inspiration, in the way he brings humor and goodwill to his meticulously painted works.
Jen Emile
I am a Métis beader, mother to 2 sons and Auntie to many. I am originally from Manitoba and living as a guest on the Lekwungen speaking Traditional Territory on the Westcoast of Vancouver Island since 1979. My Mother is First Nations/Metis/European (Cree/ Metis of Peguis Band) and my Father is Ukrainian. I have been beading and sewing since I was a teen. In the past 8 years I have been embracing more of my Mètis teachings, culture, beadwork and even learning a bit of Michif. We the Mètis are known as the Flower Beadwork People. Beading grounds me, connects me to my ancestors, is my medicine and gift to share.
Follow Jen on:
Instagram
Kristi Bridgeman
Kristi Bridgeman is a Métis artist working in the traditional lands of the W̱SÁNEĆ and Lekwungen people. Her Métis family line is from Alberta and Red River, Manitoba. Kristi is a member of the Métis Nation British Columbia and Métis Nation Greater Victoria, the Federation of Canadian Artists, and many local environmental groups such as PKOLS Conservancy and Habitat Acquisition Trust.'Kristi’s recent artistic focus is a merging of environmental, social and familial-ancestral Métis designs. The traditional patterns she incorporates in to her work were discovered in family photos, beaded and embroidered heirlooms, museum archives and from community elders.
Follow Kristi on:
Instagram
Lindsay Gowler
Lindsay founded Made in Canada Fine Ceramics and Gifts to showcase and sell his creations online. Lindsay's experience also includes teaching and volunteering to establish a community pottery studio. Reading about Métis settlements relegated to road allowances Lindsay started to see the similarities between these stories and his family’s lifestyle. "We went moose and deer hunting, went out for upland game birds/waterfowl and fished a lot. There was a forest across the street from our home where we spent a lot of time year-round. Our family also spent a considerable time camping and getting back to the land. We always had a large garden and went berry picking in season. Plus, we ate a lot of bannock growing up!"
Follow Lindsay on:
Instagram
Lisa Berry
Tân'si, my name is Lisa Berry and I take immense pride in my rich heritage and culture. I spent my childhood growing up on Treaty 8 Territory located in Alberta. Currently, I reside on Stò:lō Territory in Hope, British Columbia, where I am proudly associated with Métis Nation British Columbia. My Métis ancestry comes from my birth father's side, with family names such as Flett, Lizzotte, and Carifelle, among others. I hold my ancestry in the highest regard. I have a personal connection to the Métis Homeland of Red River through my ancestry. My second great-grandmother, Julia (Mercredi) Lizotte, along with other family members, received "halfbreed Land Script" which was meant to extinguish Métis Indigenous title. My mother's ancestry can be traced back to the Hordaland region of Norway.
Lisa Shepherd
Lisa Shepherd is recognized by the Métis Nation as an ambassador and knowledge carrier of Métis art and culture. She creates original works by commission, and has her work on display in museums, galleries and private collections across turtle island and internationally. To make her Métis artwork accessible, Lisa brings her originals into printed garments, under the brand Lisa Shepherd, Métis Artist. Lisa is primarily a beadwork artist who also combines her beadwork with wood carving. She is a sought-after teacher of beading, traditional items (moccasins, scissor pockets, wall pockets, etc.) and traditional ecological knowledge, including plant medicine.
Follow Lisa on:
Instagram
Lynette La Fontaine
muskwa mostos kesigok iskew is their spirit name, which roughly translates as bear buffalo in the sky woman. They were given the French name Lynette La Fontaine by their parents, Richard La Fontaine and LeEtta La Fontaine (née Poirier) at birth. Their late dad was Métis and their mom is a French/ Irish settler. Lynette is a Two-Spirit Métis visual, mixed media, textile artist with roots in northern Saskatchewan, as well as the historic Métis community of the Red River settlement. their Métis family names include Lafontaine, Morin, Pruden, Vandal, Mirasty, Laliberte, LaVallee, Desjarlais, Hughes, Primeau, Laframboise, Ducept, Stevenson, and more. They grew up hunting, fishing, and harvesting, as well as watching their mom paint, draw, and sew. They taught themselves to bead in 2007 while volunteering with Métis Elders.
Follow Lynette on:
Instagram
Pam
Pam is Métis/Swampy Cree/Ojibwe from the Red River. Living on the unceded territory of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. You will see her and her beautiful art and kits at various events, pow wows, festivals and markets in B.C.
Follow Pam on:
Instagram
Sandra Murray
Sandra Murray is a long time resident of Cloverdale. She is the mother of two adult children and a proud grandmother of an adorable grand child. She is very active in the Metis community and has enjoyed taking part in many cultural events. She currently serves on The Surrey/Delta Métis board of directors as the women's representative she previously served as their elder's representative. She enjoy's a small business with her daughter, Marisa, assembling and selling Ribbon Skirt Kits as well as some sewn up Ribbon wear.
Tara Lowry
Tara grew up hearing stories about her grandmother's aunt, Sophie Morigeau, who led a fascinating life as a Métis woman in the 1800's, and has become somewhat of a local legend. Tara was also lucky to have the influence of five living generations; she grew up around her grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother. Her Ktunaxa/ Métis great great grandmother was a midwife (like her mother before her), and lived to be just a few months shy of 100 years old. Tara's mother, grandmothers, aunts and great aunts have all passed on cultural knowledge, stories, and talents