When Maureen Uprichard left her first beading workshop at the Barrie South Simcoe Métis Council office in 2023, she never expected it would turn into a new business endeavour.
“That day, I went in and did the class and I was very frustrated and had my stuff in knots,” she told BarrieToday.
The New Lowell resident was determined, however, and decided to stick with it. She jumped on the internet to find as many videos as she could to help hone her skills.
“I kept backing (the videos) up and going forward, and by the next class I had three pairs of earrings made,” she said.
And after being cooped up inside due to the COVID pandemic for so long, Uprichard says she wanted to find a way to get out of the house and be social.
“I’ve always been into doing different crafts, (but) I was overwhelmed by how my beading was accepted … I’ve probably given away more earrings than I have sold, because if it makes somebody else happy then it makes me happy,” said Uprichard.
She named her small business Dragonflies - beading art and gifts.
“I get more enjoyment out of seeing somebody like and appreciate my stuff," Uprichard said.
Uprichard says she and her sister had also recently learned of their Indigenous heritage, and have since been inspired to take part in several Indigenous markets, including Indigenous Day in Huntsville.
There she met local Mohawk filmmaker Faith Howe, whose award-winning documentary The Nature of Healing —about about the survivors of the Mohawk Institute, a residential school in Brantford that operated from 1831 to June 1970 — was released in the fall.
“She purchased some of my earrings and has given them as gifts to elders,” Uprichard said.
She’s also been asked to make a pair of Métis earrings for someone to wear during the opening ceremony of The Indigenous Games.
“Of all the things I have done, it’s just sort of taken off and it’s been very rewarding and surprising. I am very grateful for all of the people I have met," she said.
Her earrings have also made it all the way to Saskatoon, Sask., where they were featured on the ears of Cree filmmaker Tristin Greyeyes during an appearance on APTN.
Uprichard previously worked as an early childhood educator and, on occasion, would work on projects on Indigenous teachings for children.
Looking back, she admits she finds it “funny” that she was completely unaware of her own ancestral background.
“It’s something that always interested me (and) I have taken a couple classes at the Barrie Native Friendship Centre not knowing I was (Métis)," Uprichard said.
Since learning about her family’s Métis background, Uprichard says she has been doing whatever she can to learn and educate herself more about her roots.
“In my grandmother’s time, you didn’t admit you were Indigenous, so I think she was probably saving my mom and my aunt from being in a residential school because we recently found out that she was in one,” Uprichard said. “They were a kind of hidden era … and when my sister did some research on Ancestry.com, she found out that we did have Métis roots.
"It has brought the culture together with a lot of people."
