Maria Nelson

Maria Nelson is a Métis-Ukrainian woman from Redwater, Alberta. Beading is a way of building and maintaining the connection between her heritage, her past, and her identity moving forward. 

NAC: First Métis Man of Odesa

OTHER: Maria began working on reconnecting with her community and heritage around the same time she began beading. Her family connections are primarily from Saskatchewan and Red River, and it was during her great-grandmother’s generation that they entered Alberta. Maria is a Lavallee, Piche, Arcand, Poitras, Anderson, and many more. It has been an educating and rewarding experience to be able to rebuild connections to her past and heritage while also being able to build new connections in her present.