How Native businesses can and are doing it our way The message around business is so often "competition competition competition" which drives a lot of Native aspiring business owners and dreamers away. Because we come from a value system that prioritizes the whole over the individual this tension can prove too hard to bear. The notion of competition is built on a scarcity mindset and when we come from communities that suffer the greatest scarcity, this can feel daunting. Collaboration comes from an abundance mindset and says "we all do better when we all do better." As tribal people, it is oppositional to our way to see others as our competition, our enemy, and where we are trying to always run...
What can we do when our art is stolen?
An unfortunate reality is that our work as artists is often taken, sold, and misused. The insult doubles when we feel powerless to fight back. After a recent misappropriation we took it up a notch and decided to provide a resource for artists. What can we do?
Read this great article by Mary Pember of Indian Country Today
Some steps you can take:
If you have a success story please share with others!
As an Indigenous person the concept of home is one that can fill me with deep gratitude and visceral rage. The rates of homelessness for Native people is 10% though we represent 1.5% of the population. And these are not just statistics, chances are if I see a Native person on the corner of Lake St, Lake Ave, I will know either them or we will know the same people. This is a reminder how most of us are only a few paychecks and rough times away from that same hard life. Every person deserves the integrity of a home. And as the powerful art installation in Minneapolis by Courtney Cochran states "Noone was homelessness before 1492". As Native people...
Heart Berry was really born from the collaborative spirit. "The small regalia business I ran from my kitchen table grew into Heart Berry from the vision and collaboration of Eighth Generation." Giizh Heart Berry has been fortunate to collaborate with amazing artists like Holly Young and Nedahness Greene on some of our proudest art installations. We collaborate with non profits such as the Minnesota United Wonderwall to raise large sums of money from our tiny business on the Rez. Last year we raised and donated over $16,000 with our collaborative hearts and you. We believe in the power of Creating Space. We also believe this is our role and responsibility. Auntie's Table brought together aspiring and accomplished makers...
At Heart Berry we believe in sharing our art to reinforce Ojibwe narratives and stories. Our newest line shares the Binesi or "thunderbird", celebrating the incredible gifts all around us. We want to call on the potential in you and encourage you to fly high and bring your gifts to the world. We are in an era generationally of benefitting from the hard work of the generations before us. We have the time and space to work to restore, heal, and contemplate our roles in the world. We all have roles to play and gifts to bring. We hope you can take some time to contemplate "What role do you play in bringing goodness to the world?" "What kind...
