Kuei , Oki, Bonjour, Hello
Since 2020, La Montagnaise has been creating beadwork inspired by heritage, land, and lived experience. Her work draws from her mixed Innu/Montagnais and French-Canadian ancestry, as well as the roots she has laid in Blackfoot Territory, where she was raised alongside the Rocky Mountains and continues to live and create.
The name La Montagnaise honours both lineage and landscape. While “Les Montagnais” is a historical term that is no longer commonly used, La Montagnaise uses it intentionally, in recognition of her ancestral ties and as a reflection of the mountains that shaped her upbringing in Blackfoot Territory. The name carries both memory and place.
This independently run studio is also named in honour of her Nokum (great-grandmother), who expressed deep pride in being Montagnaise. That pride continues through each creation.
Working in the spirit of slow fashion, every piece is entirely unique and crafted with intention — reflective of La Montagnaise’s journey across lands, languages, and generations.
-Robin Wall Kimmerer
"Some of my ancestors are Skywoman's people, and I belong to them. Some of my ancestors were the newer kind of immigrants too [...]. And here we all are, on Turtle Island, trying to make a home".
Tshinashkumitin, Merci, Thank you
Through your support, you are encouraging a small beading business. Every act of love and purchase makes the biggest difference. Made by hand, it is vital to remember that this art is not perfect. Once the process is complete, each piece is made from start to finish and becomes perfectly imperfect.