A dream becomes reality Anishinaabe Girl specializes in goods from Indigenous entrepreneurs By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 5:50 PM CST Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023

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This article was published 16/11/2023 (1051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shauna Fontaine is surrounded.

To her right, red dress pins from Christine’s Beaded Creations share shelves with Kokom Scrunchies hair ties.

Across her path, a case displays handmade earrings from Bead n Butter. The accessories mingle with her own earring creations.

“I feel really grateful and humbled,” Fontaine said, standing in her new shop. “When I first started out, I really didn’t see a whole lot of Indigenous makers.”

She’ll now see them daily.

Fontaine opened Anishinaabe Girl at 165 Lilac St. on Tuesday. It’s a way to spotlight her clothes and accessories alongside other Indigenous entrepreneurs.

“I really wanted to be in an area that had good traffic and a good sense of community,” she said. “Also, (to) be in a space that didn’t have really a lot of… Indigenous representation.”

She wore eye-catching earrings with red pieces draping near her neck.

Stands nearby held long earrings made with birch bark and rawhide. A set might take a few minutes, or a few weeks, for Fontaine to create.

Designs often come in dreams. Sometimes they’re sketched out while Fontaine listens to music or a meditative podcast.

“I’m constantly praying,” she added.

Jewelry making is therapeutic, Fontaine explained.

She grew up in poverty, transient as a child. An aunt taught Fontaine to bead and sew before she turned 10, she said.

The lessons sparked a “lifelong love affair” with jewelry making.

“Doing this is where my heart feels most full,” Fontaine said. “On those really tough days… when I just get lost in doing my artwork and put some music on, I have that little bit of time to myself.”

She spent much of her career in social justice, including working on issues of gender-based violence and missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Jewelry became Fontaine’s go-to present. Then came friends’ nudges that she start selling her wares; some people offered to pay her.

“I thought, ‘OK, there’s some market here. Something’s here,’” Fontaine said.

She recalled setting up her first booth at a farmers market in the Exchange District roughly 15 years ago. Her jewelry — largely necklaces then — was “OK, but it wasn’t great,” she said.

St. Norbert Famers’ Market soon became a regular stop for the then-pregnant Sagkeeng First Nation member.

At the time, she didn’t brand wares as Indigenous.

“It’s been a little bit of a journey,” she added. “It really was that reclamation of my Indigeneity… and that connection we have as Indigenous women to these artistic pieces that we can adorn ourselves with.”

Her products’ Indigenous branding came roughly three years into selling. She hopped between markets, growing a following and shipping orders across Canada, she said.

“I just kind of went with the flow,” Fontaine stated.

The flow landed her on Lilac Street, transitioning her side hustle into full-time work. Teacups decorate the shop as an ode to her grandmother; she keeps pictures of her family in frames.

“I always honour the spirits,” Fontaine said.

Products like Orange Shirt Day sweaters highlight current Canadian issues. Educating customers is another reason for the storefront’s being, Fontaine noted.

“I think it’s fantastic we’ve got an Indigenous woman entrepreneur on our block,” said Alicia Brown from neighbour Gallery Lacosse.

She’s been on the Lilac strip for 13 years. Fontaine is the first female Indigenous owner Brown could remember.

“I’ve got a birthday present to buy, and I know that’s where I’m going,” she added. “I think we can be really beneficial for each other.”

Kris Kurtz, who works at Humboldt’s Legacy next door, said she’s “absolutely thrilled” about Anishinaabe Girl moving in.

Jasmine Yuzicapi is equally thrilled. Goods from her business, Yuzicapi Beadwork & Ribbon Skirts, are featured in Anishinaabe Girl.

“It’s so inspiring to see an Indigenous woman making it… (and) also come back for other artists that may not have the same opportunity,” Yuzicapi exclaimed.

The 28-year-old, like Fontaine, turned to crafting for healing. She began selling after people started asking.

“Just to see something that has kept me going in a store now… I don’t know, it’s so surreal,” Yuzicapi said. “It honestly brings me to tears.

“I’m just happy, I’m thankful, and I’m really blessed for the opportunity.”

She dreams of opening her own shop in the North End, where she grew up. There, she’d like to host workshops on beading and ribbon skirt making to help other North End youths that “are kind of lost.”

Buying Indigenous-made items supports economic reconciliation regardless of the wearer’s ethnicity, Fontaine said. It’s a question she’s often asked.

Jackets and hats are among the wares she also sells.

The shop is open daily. On Dec. 1, the entire Lilac Street strip will stay open late for holiday shopping, according to Brown.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com