PABLO — Many people have been searching for last-minute Valentine's Day gift ideas that go beyond the traditional box of chocolates.
Local Indigenous artists in Western Montana offer a range of one-of-a-kind gifts that infuse meaningful stories into their creations.
Kristina Lucero, owner of Dancing Butterfly Designs based in Missoula, specializes in quillwork, beadwork, and dentalium shellwork.
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“It makes your heart really happy when you’re out in public and you see someone wearing your jewelry,” Lucero said.
Lucero's story connects her artistry to her family's origins.
From the Tseycum band of the Saanich nation on Vancouver island, Lucero said her coastal ties and ancestors harvested the materials she uses today, like dentalium.
“Dentalium is really special to me because it reminds me of my grandma,” Lucero said.
Supporting native artists can also look differently, like the Three Chiefs Cultural Center in Pablo.
“All Native American owned in the gift shop, so we helped the local artisans by purchasing their products and then reselling them here,” Three Chiefs Cultural Center program manager Marie Torosian told MTN.
Torosian says Three Chiefs thrives to support Indigenous artists and showcase their work right here in Western Montana.
Many are small businesses and sell their work to support their families.
“It helps them to get their work known out to the public,” Torosian said, “and then it also helps them to put food on their table or, you know, put gas in their car, things like that.”
Three Chief Cultural Center also offers classes to the community.
“It's important for us to help carry on those traditions with our people,” Torosian says, “and with some of the other tribes that are living here too that they want to learn our ways or they want to come and share their ways they're welcome to do that with us as well.”
If you still need a gift, check out Dancing Butterfly Designs website.
