Kahnawà:ke artist offers beadwork classes at her shop to help preserve traditional art form

This story is a collaboration between Concordia University's journalism department, Kahnawake Survival School and CBC Montreal.

For Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup, beading is more than a pastime.

"It's my connection to my culture. It's my connection to our traditional arts — and it's my job," she laughed.

Standup, a beadwork artist, owns Traditions, a shop in Kahnawà:ke, the Kanien'kehá:ka community south of Montreal.

She sells her own traditional artwork, other Indigenous artists' work and art supplies.

In business for the past five years, Standup, 39, started beading around the age of 18.

"It was more just like fooling around with stuff," she said.

She started learning her techniques through trial and error and eventually took classes with Merit Cross, a professional beadwork artist in Kahnawà:ke.

"She helped me learn different things like how to make moccasins and stuff like that. And then beyond that, it was just myself," said Standup.

Now, she's passing down the knowledge she's gained by offering beading classes of her own at her shop after hours.

"I just thought it was important to kind of help boost our beadwork so that more people can learn and continue doing it," said Standup.

Standup got her start as an art teacher at Kateri School in the community, but she soon tired of the "whole hustle and bustle of the job."

She quit and opened Traditions a few months later, selling things like moccasins, medallions, ribbon skirts and shirts, jewelry and whatever else artists may bring in the shop.

Standup's friend Takwenha:wi Diabo, another beadwork artist based in Kahnawà:ke, started selling some of her pieces at the shop when it first opened.

Diabo had been selling her work online but moved some of it to Standup's shop "to get things going for her store," she said.

Diabo says she enjoys selling her work there because she avoids having to deal with aspects of customer service, such as waiting on payments or for people to pick up their items.

"That makes it a lot easier and worth it because I don't want to have to deal with anybody," laughed Diabo.

When the artists bring in their pieces with their prices, Standup adds a commission for the shop and ensures that all the artists get their fair share.

On top of promoting Indigenous artists' work and helping preserve the traditional art form of beading through her classes, Standup also offers painting classes to children and co-hosts a beading podcast with Leith Mahkewa, another beadwork artist based in Kahnawà:ke.

The podcast is called The Beading Table, where Standup and Mahkewa talk about beadwork "and all the stuff that you would talk about if you're sitting at the table with other women," said Standup.

It's just another tool Standup is using to encourage more community members to learn how to create different cultural art.

Meanwhile, Traditions is currently undergoing renovations to better accommodate Standup's classes, creating more work space so she can begin offering beading classes during the day.

"I want to focus a little bit more on our beadwork … and trying to get more stuff in the shop," she said.