ABOUT
“Aanii, ndinaawamagaanadog! Maygabow Ogidajew Kwe, nindizhinikaaz. Gaa-waabaabiganikaag + Um’oha, ndoonjibaa, Migizi ndoodem.
Hello, my relatives! My name is Woman Standing on the Mountaintop; Valerie St. Pierre Smith is my English name. A proud descendant of White Earth Nation, I currently reside on the unceded lands of the Um’oha people, commonly known as Omaha, NE, USA.
I am Eagle clan.”
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Valerie is a two-spirit mischief maker, multi-disciplinary designer/artisan, scholar, writer, and healer. She has an eclectic creative background including fashion, costume, and hand drawn textile designs incorporating many media. Her award-winning costume designs have been seen across the US with highlights that include McCarter Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Sea World: San Diego, the National Museum of the American Indian, and Pilobolus Dance Theatre. She has also had the great honor of being a guest artist attending the Indigenous Haute Couture Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where she developed, amongst many things, her technique of laser engraving hand drawn digital designs into fabric for design and upcycled garments.
A bit of a unicorn, Valerie’s research and scholarly work focuses on indigenizing and decolonizing western design paradigms, pedagogies, and practices. Her multi-disciplinary creative practice explores, and is deeply influenced by, her lived experiences as a mixed-blood Annishnaabe kwe, focusing on the confluence of healing, social justice, traditional Anishinaabe teachings, and the power of identity.
She believes deeply that ​beauty truly is medicine.
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Interested in indigenizing/decolonizing work? Check out some of her writings and resources under "Publications and Press." Follow her on Instagram for the most current updates on her work, her book, and other nifty happenings.
valeriestpierresmith.com; IG: @valeriestpierresmith
St. Pierre Smith holds a B.F.A from Stephens College, and an M.F.A from San Diego State University.
Miigwech agindan- thank you for reading!