Juliet Mackie is Métis (Cree, Gwich’in and English) with maternal roots in Fort Chipewyan and Red River. She is a citizen of the Métis Nation of British Columbia. Juliet is a multidisciplinary artist, located in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Raised in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, she draws inspiration from her love of nature, her family, and Métis culture. Juliet is a beader, painter, and potter. She holds a PhD from Concordia University. Juliet’s research-creation explored portrait painting as a way to strengthen cultural identity for Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people.

Juliet considers beadwork an important part of her connection to family, community and culture. As a child, she watched her grandmother, Greta, stitch birch bark baskets, moccasins, and Métis floral beadwork. Greta would tell her stories about growing up on the trapline at Hill Island Lake in the Northwest Territories. Juliet learned how to make beaded earrings in 2019 at a workshop in Montreal.

In spring 2020, Juliet turned to beadwork as an act of self-care. Since then, she has turned this practice into her business, Little Moon Creations. Although Juliet’s earrings are her own interpretation of Métis beadwork, her grandmother’s traditional artwork strongly influences her contemporary designs.