‘I couldn’t say no’: Indigenous artist becomes first to be featured by new project

FORT NELSON, B.C. — An Indigenous artist from Fort Nelson has overcome barriers to be celebrated by the Northern Rockies Arts Council (NRAC).

A member of Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN), Amber Lloyd is the first to be featured in NRAC’s ‘Artist Spotlight’, a new project.

Highlighting a new local artist from the area each month, it is supported by the British Columbia Arts Council and Northern Development Initiative Trust.

Each artist will have an article, featured video and podcast appearance through NRAC channels. Videography will be done by Ryan Dickie of Winter Hawk Studios, while the podcast is hosted by Devin Bellerose and the article is written by Esme Stephens.

“[Project director] Francine Freeman reached out to me,” Lloyd told Energeticcity.ca. “[She] asked if I would be interested in being spotlighted.

“I was a little hesitant at first, but hearing Ryan Dickie was doing videography, I couldn’t say no….I have been offered different opportunities like this in the past, but it just didn’t feel like the right time until now.”

With Dene roots, Lloyd grew up around a large family and was influenced by watching her mother sew.

Her pieces incorporate moosehide, fur and beadwork, with those works echoing cultural practice and knowledge.

Born in Fort St. John, she spent time in both Calgary and Osoyoos, before moving back to Fort Nelson in 1999.

She started her business, RAW North Crafts by Amber, back in the 2000s, going full-time around a decade ago.

“I’ve always grown up with [sewing] around me,” said Lloyd. “I would just watch my mom, and I would do crafts with her. It was always something I did as a side thing.

“It was never a main job or a main income. But when the mill closed and resources and oil and gas left town and there was really nothing…I tried to find work, and there was no work for me. I just turned to my sewing. I had to do something, and I started doing that.”

Lloyd actually travelled with her pieces when she began, to distances as far as Yellowknife, to make a sale.

“If someone was going somewhere out of town, I would just jump in with them, and I would bring my tub of moccasins,” said Lloyd. “’I would let them do whatever they were doing on that trip. And then when I’d have the time, I would go find stores, and I would just go store to store. There were a lot of people who said ‘no’ to me, and you get thick skin when you go into business.”

While many doors closed, Lloyd wasn’t fazed by rejection. Continuing putting together moccasins, she discovered the power of social media. 

“I’ve been doing this for so long. It’s changed everything,” said Lloyd. “Compared to the early 90s, it was cash only. You’re dealing with people calling you up on the phone and placing their order, and then you mailing it.

“With social media, people see it, they buy it. You get it in the mail, it’s gone. It’s just given us such an opportunity as Indigenous artists.

“A lot of times we are from small, remote communities. We did not have access to selling our stuff locally or at stores. Now, people can ship from all over and the most remote places in Canada.”

Lloyd’s moccasin work landed her a spot with Manitobah Mukluks as a storyboot artist, with her stylings sold and shipped to places as far as New Zealand and Peru. 

She also posts new works on her Facebook page on a weekly basis.

Despite all Lloyd’s success, she told Energeticcity.ca she can be taken back to her creative childhood once in a while working on a pair of moccasins.

“My grandma, who taught my mom and her sisters, they lived out in the bush, like [with] no power. They did it all by a natural light or candlelight,” said Lloyd. “It’s funny, because when I’m working, if the power goes out, it doesn’t affect my work. I can keep working. There are other people who have to leave and go home. I don’t. I just continue working as long as there’s light or a candle.”

For more details about Lloyd and her works, visit RAW North Crafts by Amber’s Facebook or Instagram pages.

To view Amber Lloyd’s spotlight, visit NRAC’s Artist Spotlight webpage.