Deliaestelle Story

Aanii, Hello, Bonjour,

My name is Stephanie Peltier. I am a proud Francophone Ojibway Aniishnabee Kwe. I am from Wiikwemikoong Unceded Territory, a community located on Manitoulin Island. My family and I also lived in Sudbury for a number of years and subsequently moved to Ottawa, the Nation’s Capital, in 1994. Adapting to a new city and a new school wasn’t easy as I didn’t really have indigenous friends to hang out with and I felt like I was the only “native kid” there. Despite being an only child, making new friends came naturally to me from an early age but I still felt disconnected from my culture. I remember telling someone that I was native and that my mom makes the best fry-bread. He had asked what fry-bread was and that’s pretty much where the conversation ended. I shared this interaction with my teacher, and as it was close to a “show-and-tell”, my teacher suggested that I share this part of my culture with them by bringing in a sample of this delicious indigenous dish for my classmates to try. The entire class raved and thoroughly enjoyed it!

How was DeliaEstelle born you ask?

As a young child, I always loved handcrafted things and admired my grandmother’s hard-working hands. She was also a mother of 13 and an incredible cook. Her name was Delia and she would create beautiful quilted blankets, handmade miniature birch bark canoes, sweetgrass turtles, little hats and coasters, and she also loved BINGO! She would have all her good luck knick-knacks circled around her which, for me, was so cute to see. I feel it is important to continue her legacy of creating, telling stories and educating others about our culture.

Estelle is my other grandmother who has recently retired after running a sewing shop located in the heart of Chelmsford, Ontario for over 40 years. I enjoyed watching her work and she would make all sorts of beautifully handcrafted items of clothing.

Both of my grandmothers had incredible skills in art, and their creativity was imprinted on me from a very young age. Delia, whom I call “Oma”, a name that has stuck in my family forever (which is another word short for “Nokomis” or “Grandmother”), passed on to the spirit world at the age of 92. I took her passing incredibly hard and desperately needed to heal, but I didn’t know how to cope. That’s when I decided to take the leap and continue her legacy by immersing myself into beadwork and sewing to reconnect with my culture. But something else was missing… it was also time to jingle dance again. When I was young, I would borrow my cousin’s regalia and dance at our annual community pow-wows during the August long-weekend. I never really owned a regalia, so I decided to design my very first regalia and create beadwork. It took me about 5 months to complete my beadwork and I had asked a friend to help me complete the ensemble. I chose the fabric and added my rose gold cones to them as the finishing touch!

My beadwork today has evolved into a trendy, modern, edgy and chic brand, with a number of various materials used per set with a traditional twist. Having been asked to create beadwork for family and friends, my skills have developed further and I have had several opportunities to grow. As an example, my auntie Christine has taught me several techniques, from learning how to peyote stitch feather earrings, to making baby moccasins. Beading has opened many doors for me and I have had the pleasure of meeting incredible indigenous people on the powwow trail whom I am proud to call my friends.

In 2015, I had the idea of developing a unique beading kit to provide others with the opportunity to experience indigenous modernized beadwork. I had been asked repeatedly how these pieces are made and this sparked the idea of the kit. Being the innovative thinker that I am, I designed, brainstormed, created mock-ups, and through trial and error, the “beginner beading kit” was born. My beading kits have been great for youth workshops across the Ottawa area and facilitated at the Manitoba Mukluks workshop in 2018, as well as the Northern Youth Abroad and at the Wabano Health Centre. I had participants that were residential school survivors and the beading kits have help them regain strength and reconnect with themselves, and most importantly, our culture. This is something that is very dear to my heart.

In 2017, I was approached by the Wabano Health Center and asked if I would be interested in showcasing my beadwork pieces for the Annual Aboriginal Day Gala Silent Auction which takes place in June. I enthusiastically said yes, and one of the guest attendees of honour was Mme Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Approximately 3 days later, I received an email requesting a custom set for Sophie to wear on the main stage at the 150th Canada Day event.

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