Crafting is a family affair for mother-daughter team, Dana and Tess Wigmore, who have been creating together for over twenty years. The multidisciplinary artists from Norway House Cree Nation band express their creativity and honour their Indigenous heritage through a wide array of mediums including painting, clay work, and crochet. Their one-of-a-kind artworks range from watercolour paintings to wall hangings, clay trinket trays, crocheted blankets and more.

Dana and Tess’s interwoven journey as artists has also been one of reconnecting with their Indigenous roots and healing. After her Cree father died early in Dana’s life, she lost the connection to her Indigenous culture. Once she became a parent herself, however, Dana began to rediscover her roots and connect with family she didn’t know she had. Learning about her Cree culture alongside her children has been a source of great joy for Dana. The artistic talents she inherited from her father have also served as a conduit for reconnecting with her heritage and celebrating it.

As a young child, Tess was always interested in artistic outlets. Dana encouraged her daughter’s creativity and twenty years later, the Wigmores are still crafting alongside one another. Their art has served as a powerful path to self-healing, familial healing and intergenerational healing. There is healing to be found simply in the act of sitting with each other, talking, and creating. Tess has gone through her own healing journey and is currently completing a degree in Indigenous Social Work so she can provide support to others in their healing.

Originally from Manitoba, Dana and Tess moved to Epektwik when Tess was ten years old and have called it home ever since. The warm welcome and inclusivity they have felt from the Mi’kmaq community and Indigenous artisans on PEI has been one of the greatest rewards of crafting. The Wigmore’s creations are inspired by their Cree culture, the Mi’kmaq culture, nature, the works of other artisans, and modern art.