Mohawk designer Tammy Beauvais has a bead on business

Receiving a commission from the spouse of the Canadian prime minister is a high honour for an artist. It’s also one that doesn’t come easy: for Mohawk fashion designer Tammy Beauvais the commission from Sophie Gregoire Trudeau was the culmination of a lifetime of hard work.

“This is 20 years of keeping my nose to the grindstone,” said Beauvais. “When something like this happens, it makes you realize that all the hard times were worth it.”

Beauvais produced a beaded cape for Gregoire Trudeau, which she then gifted to Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, during the Trudeaus’ visit to Washington, DC, earlier this year. For Beauvais, that was the icing on the cake.

“Michelle Obama is such an amazing, intelligent and inspirational person, but she’s also a fashion icon,” exclaimed Beauvais.

The high stakes made the commission a bit terrifying for Beauvais. “There’s so many questions that run through your mind as you prepare, design and work on it,” she said. “You always wonder – am I going to get it done on time? Are they going to like it? Am I good enough? It’s an absolutely scary, stressful and exciting experience. ”   

Beauvais started out creating strictly traditional styled clothing for people in her community of Kahnawake. Her current collections incorporate traditional Iroquois and other Indigenous symbols with contemporary-styled clothing.

“It was a conscious choice,” said Beauvais on the decision to mix her cultural influences with her contemporary work. Her first effort to mix the two came when designing a gift for a friend in the late 1990s. “I made a cashmere scarf with Iroquois symbols on it, and that’s when I realized I may have something here.”  

This isn’t the first time her work has been recognized on an international platform. Early in her career, Aline Chrétien commissioned Beauvais to create a series of shawls for the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City.

However, she remembers a time when the mixing of traditional and contemporary wasn’t accepted by either Indigenous or non-Indigenous communities.

“It wasn’t really done back then. People just didn’t get it. It was almost taboo,” said Beauvais.

To gain acceptance for her designs, she approached actors such as Robert De Niro, Pierce Brosnan and Eric Roberts to pose for photos while wearing her work. “Once those photos got out into the media and my own people came around, then my business started to really move,” said Beauvais.   

This recent high-profile commission is helping her brand grow exponentially. “It’s easier, customers are coming to us now. There’s more mainstream interest,” said Beaauvais. “The other thing is Native symbols and Native style is a fad right now.”

But more than a fad, Beauvais believes the perception of Indigenous people is changing in Canada. “By commissioning Indigenous artists, the Trudeaus are helping the mainstream be more inclined to see and support Indigenous people and artists,” said Beauvais. “The system is what it is. You can’t change it overnight, but it’s the small things that will help make the change.”    

Since the commission, Beauvais has been busy filling orders, meeting with fabric suppliers, sewing and designing her new line. At the time of our interview, her husband, who helps run the business, was packing the car so the two could vend at a distant powwow.

Despite her growing business, Beauvais still finds time to give back to her community. Recently she’s been approaching the youth in the community about something else she’s always had a talent for – investing money.

“You have to start thinking about these things when you’re young, and nobody teaches us that,” said Beauvais. “Anybody can be an artist, but can you make a business out of it? I always tell people that if they want to be a artist, go to business school.”