Hi, my name is Rikki. I am Chilcotin Cree Woman who calls Treaty 6 home.

When I was little, I used to always love playing make believe. I was the kind of kid to believe in magic, mermaids, and ghosts. I always had a longing to know the unknown, to dive into what is not “normal” to society. What society deems as “not real” is very real to me. Now I find myself embracing that inner child that believes in magic and sharing my knowledge and intuitive gifts with those around me.

I was born and raised in treaty 6 territory. I am a wife. I am a mother to 3 children. I currently home-school and have been since 2020. My mother is Chilcotin (Tshilqot’in) from British Columbia and my father’s lineage is from Treaty 6 territory. My mother is a survivor of St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School that was established near Williams Lake, BC. She lost her culture, language and traditions & as a result I have had little teachings of my own culture as a Tshilqot’in Cree. My mother would tell me stories of residential school through out my years. She would share with me what she knew and what she was taught, even though it was little. I always adored her colorful beads that she kept in an old shoe box and I would love going through it just to look. She had an assortment of pony beads, seed beads and bugle beads for making fringe earrings. My mother used to do quite a bit of crafting back in her day and found herself dabbling in candle making, sewing, crocheting, beading, and macrame. She now crochets a handful of items to her hearts content. If you’d like, you can see some of her work here.

Crafting has always been apart of First Nation culture and I love that I feel connected to my roots when I make all kinds of crafts. Especially if I can make it from naturally made supplies & things I harvest when I’m out walking in nature. Having that relationship to all living things in and around us to create beauty in this world is what I live for.

“Feel the ground beneath your feet, so that you may fasten your eyes to the stars.”

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My beading &

crafting journey

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I have been a stay-at-home mom to 3 children and took on homeschooling in the fall of 2020. Around the same time I decided to start in my leather choker venture as it was an idea of mine that was brewing in my head for quite some time before I finally decided to do something about it. It started with 2 Abalone Shell Heart Buttons my Bead Master gifted me. As I was holding them, I was flooded with ideas & how cute they would look as a Choker.

I always had a love for jewellery ever since I can remember, being a young teen and always buying jewellery from the mall and wearing them everywhere. I started making simple glass bead bracelets after having my second child in 2012. A good friend of mine took notice in my enjoyment for creativity so she started teaching me how to bead on felt and she started showing me how to make simple beaded earrings. She would go on to gift me supplies or earrings she made herself. I will always credit her for taking me under her wing and teaching me and showing me the things she has learned.

Learning how to make beaded earrings is such a precious gift because I feel like it helps me in so many ways. Not only does it slow down my racing mind in an already busy world, but it gives me that connection to my culture as a First Nations woman who lost my culture through the colonial system. It strengthens my connection to all things in and around me and I am grateful to the Creator for such a life. As someone who struggled with identity issues since childhood, embracing this part of myself never felt so whole.

Sechanalyagh, Hiy Hiy for being here with me on my journey.

 

My Vision when creating

I have a dream to intertwine Astrology, the moon & stars into my work. I also love working with natural materials to develop that strong connection with the natural world around us.
We are connected through the very ground we walk upon everyday.