NWT artists Marlene Tutcho and Amanda Baton both say their trip to Ottawa for the 2024 International Indigenous Tourism Conference was worthwhile.
“It was a big success,” said Deline’s Tutcho, whose booth was nearly empty on the last day of the event at the capital city’s Shaw Centre. “As you can see, my table is shrinking.”
“It’s been a big success,” agreed Baton, from Yellowknife. “A lot of my stuff has sold. All my large, statement pieces are gone.”
Tutcho and Baton were in Ottawa as part of a cohort of five with NWT Arts, a branch of the GNWT that promotes artists from the territory.
Both women are experienced creators.
“I was born and raised into a culture where my parents and my sisters would sew,” said Tutcho. “After 2014, I picked it up really fast. I started creating my own designs with the help of my mom and my older sister.”
“I come from a family of beaders and creators and I did so at a young age,” added Baton. “In 2018 or 2019, I started sewing and I just kind of took off from there. I started testing myself and seeing what my strengths are. I kept doubting myself, thinking ‘oh I can’t make fringe earrings.’ Then I made fringe earrings. ‘[I thought] ‘oh, I can’t do tufting.’ Then I did tufting.”
For Tutcho, it was her third such excursion to other Canadian markets with NWT Arts. She emphasized the importance of travel out of the territory for artists and craftspeople.
“There’s so much opportunity out there,” she said. “People need to grasp it and take it and say, this is my culture, this is what I was born and raised to do.”
“I used to see my mother do this, and I thought ‘I’ll never go that far,’ but I’ve went so far. It’s a great opportunity.”
For Baton, the trip was a somewhat new experience.
“It’s been very humbling and very eye-opening as well,” she said. “It’s a fairly large market and I have all different people from all walks of life coming by and it’s really beautiful to hear the words that people say about my jewelry, and how unique and different it is.”
What made the Ottawa conference, held Feb. 26-28, particularly meaningful for both women was the fact that it was international. The event included Indigenous representatives from across Canada, as well as places like Hawaii, Mexico and even Norway.
They both agreed it was inspiring to mingle with Indigenous people from far-off places and to receive such positive feedback from the strangers they encountered.
“They said it’s very unique and very different,” Baton said of the compliments she received about her work. “[People called it] high-end, luxurious, really blingy. That’s kind of what I’ve been hearing.
“I just love hearing that because this takes months of planning and lots of work, lots of love, lots of healing. Creating is a healing outlet for me. It helps me to stay present and grounded.”
The two artists and their peers made the long journey back to the NWT on Feb. 29.
They both hope to attend similar events in the future.
“I probably will have a break from now until maybe a month or so and start doing it again,” said Tutcho.
Along for the trip with Tutcho, Baton and their fellow artists was Johanna Tiemessen, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment’s manager of arts programming and traditional economy.
Tiemessen has taken numerous artists and creators on similar excursions, but agreed that the outing in Ottawa was a great success.
“What it comes down to is the audience — the when and the where and the who,” she said in the Shaw Centre. “This is an international Indigenous tourism conference. The people that are coming here want to support these makers —all of the makers in this room.
“When you have a dedicated audience that is here specifically to support and shop, I think that makes a difference,” she added. “[The artists] reach new audiences. It totally advances their business and their artwork.”
