I began learning my skills in 2020 from my Oneida Language & Cultural Resources teachers, carrying on the rest of my knowledge through self-teaching and other Indigenous artists tutorials online. When I made the step to start my own small business making beadwork, I chose the name, colours, and imagery very carefully to reflect my family’s story. When I showed my Grandpa my first beaded pin I made, it was the first time I had heard him say anything about the cultural knowledge we hold within our DNA. He told me to continue beading and to keep learning how to Jingle Dress Dance because it runs through my blood from the maternal generations before me. I did it as another step within my cultural reconnection journey and to help amplify Indigenous presence while also bringing awareness through contemporary Indigenous art.

As I continue my reconnection journey, I am always rooted in carrying on the ways of my ancestors and honouring what they went through for us to still be here. I am currently on a learning journey to understand the history and teachings behind creating Traditional Haudenosaunee raised beadwork to also help my community preserve our traditional practices to be passed along the future generations. I hope to spread the knowledge I’ve learned across my journey and continue to learn because we all deserve to know what was taken away from us.