The upcycled Barbies are dressed in contemporary Indigenous fashion designs including beaded earrings and ribbon skirts.
Breanna Deis is an Indigiqueer Dene artist based in Vancouver.
She's upcycled around three dozen dolls so far, illustrating a diversity of body types, skin tones, hair colours, and genders, with jewellery, ribbon skirts and dresses that Deis beaded and sewed. Barbies have always been a fascination for Deis. She started collecting old Indigenous-themed dolls from Etsy and eBay, like the ones you could find in a 1990s Sears catalogue or that are reminiscent of Disney's portrayal of Pocahontas.
"They're not showing what Indigenous people are like today or the idea that we're still around," she said.That's something she wanted to change and how she got the idea to create dolls to reflect how Indigenous people look today with contemporary Indigenous fashion. Keyonah Lambert and her six-month old daughter play with some of the dolls she purchased from Breanna Deis.Lambert has a six-month-old daughter, and had been on the lookout for Indigenous-made toys and books. It's something she didn't see when she was growing up.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Manitoba licence plate on missing, murdered Indigenous women in the worksWINNIPEG — Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen says a new licence plate could be in place by next summer to raise money for families of missing and…
Read more »
Despite new laws, too many inmates in isolation are Indigenous, panel saysPanel finds Indigenous people in Canadian prisons are held in segregation at vastly higher rates and those in isolation units routinely get less time outside their cells than allowed under new laws passed three years ago
Read more »
Friendship Centre youth team helps Indigenous young people overcome barriersSupports can include help making and getting to crucial appointments, assistance with resume writing and job applications, pregnancy and parenting support, and access to sports and recreation.
Read more »
Canada failing Black, Indigenous prisoners as overrepresentation persists: reportA new report says Canada has made scant progress in addressing the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous offenders in prisons.
Read more »
Canada failing Black, Indigenous prisoners as overrepresentation persists: reportCanada has made scant progress in addressing the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous people in prisons, with some facing even worse conditions than a decade ago, a new report says.
Read more »