The Edge
Photos: courtesy
Her Braids Who knew such a small beaded pendant could bring such awareness and change for clean drinking water. Sunshine Quem Tenasco, Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, Quebec, and her company, Her Braids, do just that. Kitigan Zibi, (also known as River Desert) is a First Nations reserve of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation. Heartbreakingly, Kitigan Zibi has gone without clean drinking water for a total of fifteen years. Tenasco, a mom of four, is a busy bee, always having a few projects on-the-go at all times. Five years ago, she started Her Braids, a small business that creates small, intricately-beaded vibrant pendants in various geometric shapes. Her Braids is committed to donating 10% of profits directly towards the David Suzuki Foundation’s Blue Dot Movement, a national grassroots campaign based on the idea that everyone in Canada deserves the right to a healthy environment, ultimately seeking to amend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include the right to a healthy environment. With Her Braids, Tenasco is committed to making clean drinking water in First Nations communities a reality, one pendant at a time. Tenasco also started Pow Wow Pitch, a platform that provides a safe, supportive, collaborative, empowering, and culturally supportive environment that addresses Indigenous entrepreneurs’ unique challenges and aspiring Indigenous entrepreneurs. About Her Braids Her Braids started as a nine-month project for the David Suzuki Foundation’s project called “The Blue Dot” movement, aiming to make clean water a Human Right in Canada. It was supposed to be a fundraiser to bring awareness about this urgent water crisis through beaded pendants’ sales. I’ve continued to slowly grow Her Braids into giving workshops, writing “Nibi’s Water Song,” and creating some apparel to educate people about clean water further. The Motivation Behind Her Braids Roughly 40% of my community still doesn’t have clean water. We live right
All About Beading We always beaded in our community. We’d all go to the cultural center as kids and make things, and reflect on what we were creating with our bare hands. We’d learn about it different Nations and their specific styles. So I mostly play with beads. Sometimes I love what I create. Sometimes I don’t, and it sits in my beading drawer. But I mostly appreciate the calmness that beading brings. Giving Back & Contributing to the Community with Her Braids Every year we donate to the Blue Dot movement. We keep our goal very clear: to be a tiny part of the water warrior community. We give clean water workshops for both beading and reading “Nibi’s Water Song” for younger children. Switching Gears to Survive the Pandemic For Her Braids, a large portion of my work is giving workshops. Since COVID-19, everything has been canceled for months. So although this was scary, my other project, Pow Wow Pitch, has expanded to a national level. Taking Action I want to encourage anyone who wants to help to be a part of the water crisis solution just to get started. Do what you are capable of doing, and that’s good enough. And remember, the government doesn’t create change. The government responds to change, so create change and keep talking about important issues. Shop and support Her Braids at HERBRAIDS.COM.
Photos: courtesy
beside a non-Indigenous town where everyone has access. We are a mere 1.5 hours away from Parliament, where all the decisions are made. It made me wonder why we don’t have equal access to this fundamental human right. Once I started researching, I discovered that many First Nations communities in Canada were in similar positions. I felt like I could be a little help and educate people the best way I knew how, through beadwork. Her Braids was born.
Founder Tomasina Chupco
Indigenous Intentions Afro-Indigenous-owned and operated jewelry brand Indigenous Intentions serves multiple purposes, all geared towards intentions of increasing awareness for Indigenous and womxn causes. Founder Tomasina Chupco, Seminole from southern Florida, heads the jewelry brand to make an impact and invest back into the community with traditional jewelry with a modern twist. Communities helping and giving back to communities is the goal of Indigenous Intentions. About Indigenous Intentions Indigenous Intentions is Afro-Indigenous-owned and designed. We are a cause jewelry brand created with the intention of increasing awareness for Indigenous and womxn causes. Our advocacy background drives our passion for giving back to Indigenous and African American communities. Jewelry is a beautiful part of our Indigenous culture. What better way to make an impact and invest back into the community than by launching collections with a philanthropist initiative: #MoreThanABracelet. We love creating traditional jewelry with a modern twist. Indigenous Intentions supports Indigenous and womxn artisans and designers worldwide. Indigenous Intentions donates 10% of proceeds from our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Womxn (MMIW) Jewelry Collections to MMIWUSA. About the Jewelry We make jewelry that has a modern twist to traditional jewelry, cause-awareness jewelry for organizations, and some pieces that initiate the thought processes of decolonization. One purpose Indigenous Intentions serves is contributing to the MMIW cause. Giving Back & Contributing to the Community with Indigenous Intentions We believe in investing back into the community, so we help fund numerous projects such as some of the protests and for COVID-19 relief: StrongHearts Native Helpline, Indigenous Peoples Movement, Unicorn Riot, Black Visions Collective, COVID-19 Navajo Relief, National Indigenous Women Resource Center (NIWRC), and MMIWUSA. Thriving & Growing during the Pandemic At the beginning of the pandemic, we were affected, but we have been more creative than ever. It’s helping us grow our business because we have more time to design and research causes in need during this time. Keeping Up with Indigenous Intentions Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Etsy. We sometimes have a pay-what-you-can sale to make our items affordable for everyone. We also have occasional giveaways. We are working on a special project to help women feel safer and another project for our Black sisters.
Founder Sunshine Tenasco
14 NATIVE MAX MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
Shop Indigenous Intentions at ETSY.COM/SHOP/ INDIGENOUSINTENTIONS. nativemax.com
