Nitōsis Handcrafted Designs

Chelsea Linklater is a self-taught bead artist, currently living in Toronto. Chelsea is of mixed Cree and Jewish heritage. She is a proud member of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation located in Nelson House, Manitoba. Chelsea has always had a connection with beading and handicrafts and grew up in admiration of her aunties’ beadwork. She eventually began exploring more traditional Cree beadwork herself, initially learning by studying her mom’s beaded earring collection. Her work combines traditional beading elements of her ancestors with more contemporary jewelry styles. As a tribute to her aunties, her own role as an auntie, and the cherished place aunties hold in Indigenous families and communities, Chelsea named her company “nitōsis” (Cree for “auntie”).