Once upon a time this group of Native entrepreneurs gathered with tales of inspiration, long hours, big dreams, wild successes, many frustrations, and shared with each other. At Heart Berry we are all about creating spaces. Gathering Abundance was a beautiful evening of our local, small, Native owned businesses talking about our values and purpose as entrepreneurs. We smudged, we ate, great coffee was had. Elder and curator Wendy Savage shared about her lifetime as an arts entrepreneur and the many barriers she has overcome. A long time mentor to me (Giizh) at Heart Berry, Wendy has shown many artists and entrepreneurs how to live their big dreams and opened many doors for a generation. Artist and entrepreneur Michelle Defoe of Star...
At Heart Berry we are all about making art for living! We have been creating work for the KwePack since its inception. Our CEO is one of the founding members of this Indigenous Women's Wellness group. The KwePack has been running races from 5ks to 50 milers since 2010. They have represented in the largest numbers as an Indigenous group to races across the midwest. This past May they hit the road for a half marathon on Madeline Island. Madeline Island is one of our pinnacle village and historic sites and the Kwepack was proud to represent Anishinaabeg at this beautiful event. Representing in new floral gear, check out their fun weekend! Want to learn more about the KwePack? Are...
Across Native Land (everywhere on turtle island) students prepare for the culmination of years of hard work, survival, late nights, and get to stand out as the pride of their family. For many of these students this experience is mixed with the complexity of being a Native person within institutions that do not value or see them. Every year it seems there is a school district taking away Native scholars feathers, telling students they can't wear beaded caps, or excluding our culture from the school. Almost without fail we are forced to advocate on behalf of our community about why we need to be known and seen. We see some institutions doing the work to build in curriculum, staff, and...
As Heart Berry's 10th Anniversary approaches we are reflecting on the lessons of entrepreneurship. We are so honored to be asked to share about this journey and this past week headed to Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures Alumni Event to co-keynote with our friend Adrienne Benjamin. Alumni entrepreneurs have engaged in training and mentorship to build their vision and plan for their entrepreneurial journey. We shared lessons learned, struggles, and triumphs and wrapped with a poem making art project led by Adrienne. We hope our endless problem solving journey can inspired and make a path for others to make their own way. Miigwech Mille Lacs and Adrienne for this great evening. Miigwech also to the Initiative Foundation for supporting this event!...
As we all continue to learn and grow we were thrilled to be invited to share about the cultural teachings of the ode'imin or heart berry with the Fond du Lac Public Health Program. We invited our Auntie Roxanne Delille as she taught us so much about the lessons of the Heart. It's rare and beautiful to be able to gather across generations with our teachers and babies. Auntie Roxanne shared about her teachings of the strawberry and Giizh shared about how these have impacted the work of Heart Berry. Taking the time to identify a plant we feel a reciprocity and connection to we took time to create our own original piece of art. In our fast paced lives...
