A Celebration of National Native American Heritage Month

Founder of 4KINSHIP

Amy Denet Deal, the visionary behind the Indigenous-owned sustainable upcycling brand 4KINSHIP, is a proud member of the Diné (Navajo) Tribe. Since its inception in 2015, 4KINSHIP stands as a testament to Denet Deal's unwavering dedication to her Indigeneity and her community. Advocating for the profound impact of our choices, she believes in our collective potential for positive change.

In response to the challenges that COVID-19 imposed on the Navajo Nation, Denet Deal spearheaded efforts that raised over $1 million to support her community. Not stopping there, she introduced the inspiring Diné Skate Garden Project in 2021, collaborating with Tony Hawk's The Skatepark Project and the Two Grey Hills community to bring a skate park to the Navajo Reservation.

In 2023, Denet Deal launched the 4KINSHIP Indigenous Futures Fund. This groundbreaking initiative is dedicated to empowering and honoring Indigenous artists in the creative realms of performing arts and fashion, championing a future that is vibrant and inclusive. This movement is a powerful force committed to amplifying Indigenous talent and creativity, embracing the essence of Indigenous futurism.

Founder of EMME Studio

Artist and designer Korina Emmerich founded the slow fashion brand EMME Studio in 2015. Her colorful work celebrates her paternal Indigenous heritage from the Puyallup Tribe while aligning art and design with education. With a strong focus on social and climate justice, Emmerich's artwork strives to expose and dismantle systems of oppression in the fashion industry and challenge colonial ways of thinking.

​Emmerich has worked as a board member, special advisor, and educator with The Slow Factory Foundation. She serves on the board of The Fibers Fund and works as the Exhibitions and Materials Steward with Catalyst. 

She is the co-founder of Relative Arts, a brick-and-mortar community space, open studio, and shop that showcases contemporary Indigenous fashion and design in NYC’s East Village. A peer-run space, Relative Arts fosters the advancement of Indigenous futurism through collaboration, celebration, and education.

Emmerich’s work has been featured in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA PS1, Denver Art Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts Boston, as well as in notable publications such as Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Fashion, and New York Magazine. She has presented her collections in Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival, Santa Fe Indian Market's Couture Runway Show, and New York Fashion Week.

Senior Lead for Indigenous Entrepreneurship at Shopify

Kyle Brennan Shàwinipinesì, a proud member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, is an accomplished entrepreneur and a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights and economic self-determination. With deep roots in the Algonquin-Anishinaabe community, he has dedicated his career to amplifying Indigenous voices and fostering economic opportunities through storytelling, advocacy, and entrepreneurship.

Currently serving as the Senior Lead for Indigenous Entrepreneurship at Shopify, he is at the forefront of integrating Indigenous businesses into the global digital economy. His work focuses on increasing awareness, building community, and creating sustainable economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples through innovative technology and commerce solutions.

Singer/producer Stepha Murphy (she/they) is originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina but currently lives between LA, NYC, and Richmond, Virginia. They are a two-spirit Afro-Indigenous artist of A Ni Sa Ho Ni (Cherokee Blue/Medicine Clan) and Arapaho ancestry. Lucaa, Murphy’s newest brainchild, is a genre-bending anti-pop brand of music that features raw and deceptively deep songwriting, pulled from their experiences of being a young model in NYC and being a queer POC artist. 

Lucaa takes a grungier approach to indie pop, with influences harnessed from Radiohead, Billie Eilish, Arlo Parks, and Dua Saleh. With organic production led by Murphy’s natural intuition and vocals reminiscent of a lullaby, Lucaa’s brand of raw and emotive pop music is an expression of both their innerworkings and their culture. They have always infused fashion and music into their art and are working to bring Indigenous representation to the music industry through their own unique expression and voice. Within the context of music and fashion, they are also shining a light on the two-spirit Indigenous experience within the queer community. From their own words:

"I am striving to bring a stronger and louder Native voice and presence to the music industry. And to create an easier path for other diverse, young Indigenous artists within this world."

—Stepha Murphy (Lucaa)

Founder of Here’s To You (H2Y)

Hud Oberly (Osage, Caddo, Comanche), based in Brooklyn, New York, is an art advocate who seeks out opportunities to create space for Indigenous creativity, specifically in the New York art world. He has grown a reputation as an art advocate via highlighting contemporary art on his personal social media and by starting his creative lifestyle brand Here’s To You (H2Y). Oberly was the keynote speaker at the Parsons School of Design Indigenous graduation ceremony, and last spring he was honored with the National Center for American Indian Enterprise’s Native American 40 under 40 award for his dedication to fostering community and culture through creativity.

Designer and Founder of Jennifer Younger Designs 

Jennifer Younger is an award-winning Tlingit artist of Eagle/Drum House Clan, who was raised in Yakutat, Alaska. She creates artwork that reflects her own style of traditional Tlingit formline designs. She uses a metal-carving technique to make jewelry and sculptural pieces. As an apprentice to Dave Galanin, she learned the technical and traditional practices of carving Tlingit formline design. From her own words: “I draw inspiration from traditional Tlingit formline designs, historic artifacts, spruce-root basket-weaving patterns, and from the contrast and texture of metals. Looking back takes me forward.” —Jennifer Younger