Whitehorse gallery exhibit shows off beauty and artistry of beaded earrings

Isabel Ruitenbeek · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 12:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Nine.

That's the fig of times the word "bougie" was utilized successful the Yukon Legislature connected Wednesday, arsenic MLAs from each 3 parties paid tribute to Teagyn Vallevand's archetypal amusement arsenic curator of the Hudę Njú Kú assemblage successful Whitehorse's Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.

The show, which opened connected March 14, is titled My Big Bougie Beaded* Earrings.

"I enactment … an asterisk due to the fact that we didn't ever usage beads," Vallevand said. "We utilized different resources that are Yukon First Nations-specific."

Those Yukon-specific resources included location tanned hide, food leather, porcupine quills, shells, foxtails, whale baleen, and astatine slightest 5 antithetic kinds of fur, which were each recovered successful the earrings astatine the gallery — along with modern effect beads, copper cones, commercialized hide, sapphires, rubies, vinyl and rhinestones.

"I conscionable emotion being capable to larn and enactment with our accepted creation styles," Vallevand said. "And past also, arsenic an artist, playing with, 'What does modern Indigenous artwork mean?'"

Vallevand is simply a Kwanlin Dun citizen. In summation to being a curator, she is a beader, weaver and carver. She said she was was blown distant by the involvement successful her archetypal exhibit. Expecting to person astir 20 sets of earrings, she ended up getting 53 submissions from artists crossed the North.

"Yukon First Nations artisans went hard," she said.

Earrings arsenic entrepreneurship 

Twenty-one pieces ended up connected the assemblage walls, but Vallevand didn't privation to permission the others out. 

Instead, she added a retail constituent to the show. The earrings that didn't marque it to the main grounds are displayed successful solid cases, and are disposable for sale.

"I consciousness similar arsenic an Indigenous artist, truthful galore of america person made earrings," Vallevand says. "I cognize for myself arsenic an artist, a mates of times I would merchantability earrings to marque a mates other dollars present and determination to assistance enactment myself."

Many placards successful the assemblage shared stories of however beadwork connected the artists with their communities, their cultures and their ancestors. Many of the artists learned to bead from their grandmothers, great-grandmothers oregon uncles, and are present passing the skill on to aboriginal generations. 

Vallevand said beadwork tin besides be a endurance skill, with women selling their enactment to assistance supply for their families. 

"I wanted to honour that," she said.

Living creation and stories

What Vallevand wanted to honour is the thought that beadwork isn't a humanities creation signifier meant to bent connected a depository wall. It's living, breathing culture, she said.

"I deliberation it's truly important present to person abstraction arsenic a Yukon First Nations curator to beryllium capable to … bash things a small spot otherwise than however a mean accumulation works."

Vallevand says for her, being a curator is astir storytelling. 

Her begetter was a storyteller astatine CBC, and she says successful her caller role, "I consciousness similar I'm besides telling a story. And truthful I consciousness truly connected to him."  

As for being recognized successful the Legislature, Vallevand says she wasn't expecting the kudos to travel 1 aft the other, from each 3 parties.

"I benignant of felt similar the queen," she says. "It was precise cute." 

The My Big Bougie Beaded* Earrings show is connected astatine the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre until May 20, 2025.