UNGS

Fashion Blog on CBC

2012-01-19T16:16:00.000-05:00

If for some strange reason you are not following me on Twitter or Facebook, then you may not have noticed that I wrote a blog for CBC on Monday. The post is all about cultural appropriation in fashion in relation to some of my findings while walking along Queen Street in Toronto. Please take a read for yourself and let me know exactly what you think about this post. Is it cultural appropriation

Hotel NC II: BHMW

2012-01-17T08:00:00.007-05:00

yes my Photoshop skills are lacking You may have caught the first Dating @ Hotel NC vlog, where my roommate, Jas, & I discussed PIPs versus POPs (Perfect in Person vs. Perfect on Paper). Well that vlog inspired another video, when someone brought up the notion of BHMW (Bring home to mom worthy). So we thought we'd explore that territory a little bit right here on this vlog. Oh and if you are

Nat & Marie

2012-01-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

Clip from the Nat & Marie UStream channelJust before we started. Pretty ladies: Marie and Nat (in order). Rob Sarj on the decks and Tanya on the interdecks In case you missed it, I was LIVE on the Nat & Marie show on January 3rd. Yeah I know that was already almost two weeks ago now but it was the day after the show that I started eating gluten and my life went into hardcore slow-mo. The outfit

A Trail(er) of Crooked Arrows

2012-01-13T19:39:00.000-05:00

The official trailer for Crooked Arrows was just released as the film team was at the US Lacrosse convention. It looks great but I must admit, so far I was hoping for more locker room scenes ... I'll still be there in the theaters watching anyways though.Best line: When did the Indians start playing lacrosse anyway?Brightest new star to come on the scene.Favourite scene of the entire trailer.

Come On Baby Light My (8th) Fire

2012-01-13T15:22:00.000-05:00

So last night some serious epic television happened in Canada. Like the kind that should make you haul yourself to Rogers and get yourself an HDPVR. 8th Fire had it's first episode last night and it was amazing. I had a bit of a sneak pic on the first episode (Thanks Veritas!) and got to chat with Mr. Wab Kinew about it last Sunday when he was in town for that Strombo show. Be sure to check out

Life in the Gluten Lane

2012-01-10T08:00:00.002-05:00

If you have been following my Tweets or my Instagram feed, you may have noticed that I have been flirting with disaster these past five days ... Yes that is a real pizza A pecan butter tart eh? I have been #glutenfree since July 2009, which I first wrote about here in 'But No More Bannock!' I didn't get officially diagnosed for Celiac at that time since I learned that you have to actually

Live in the sunshine

2012-01-06T17:01:00.001-05:00

On my way to the New Years party I received some very sad news. A person I know has recently had a very major setback that will likely affect her for the rest of her life. I choked back my tears in the back of the car not wanting to cause a huge sob scene, but I felt such sadness for her, and those close to her. How precious this life is. I took that as a reminder of just that. I know we hear

Thrush on Strombo

2012-01-05T08:00:00.003-05:00

In case you missed it (or don't have cable), Gemini award-winning Michelle Thrush was on the Strombo Show January 3, 2012. I totally sat down with Sarah and we live-tweeted that ish #ThrushStrombo. It was pretty awesome, but it all went so fast and I couldn't capture the quotes. Thank god for video. It's up on my YouTube so y'all can check it, but here are some of my highlights: George: "It is

It's Show Time with Nat & Marie

2012-01-04T15:54:00.000-05:00

Nat and Marie Guess who's going to be on TV tonight? Okay well maybe not TV, but it's a webcast and that's even better because who the eff even has cable anymore these days? I am going to be on the Nat & Marie show tonight at 9 PM EST and I will be interviewed LIVE. . Yes live. I better have some serious amounts of coffee so I sound like an quasi-intelligent human being or I'll just have to

'Sample the Beauty of the New Year' Guest Blog by Sarah Yankoo

2012-01-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

It arrives like a gift. Yay! Tis' the season for new years resolutions. Many of us are thinking of our goals, dreams, and desires. And like me, you may be thinking of taking some time to bring out your inner bombshell. The Luxe Box is a great simple way to ensure you you are getting access to a refined set of beauty products for all of 2012. When I got the box, I was super excited because it's

Top 11 of '11

2012-01-02T19:01:00.000-05:00

Truth. The past year has been full of travel and adventure. I have been to a ton of cities, four countries, and three continents. Talk about a whirlwind of a year, it has been a lot of fun. Truth be told that I actually exhausted myself. So in 2012 the idea is to travel in a more limited capacity. I still have a few places that I want to go but decreasing work travel is really going to help me

New Year New Life

2011-12-31T18:43:00.000-05:00

Happy New Years everyone! Have a safe and happy night and I'll be Tweeting and Instagramming the night away :). "Make your goal your hobby." ~Jon Crowley (from Attention Surpus podcast)

Igloos in the City

2011-12-30T19:07:00.002-05:00

It's no secret how much I hate the cold snow. I was raised outside of Vancouver and our winters were very mild. Like seriously wear only your spring coat all winter mild. So when I moved to Toronto I was in serious snow shock. I still am actually. I know I'm supposed to get used to it but as soon as January hits I am conjuring up ways to escape. My ultimate goal is to fly south like a young

Nicolas Galanin: Awesome Tlingit Artist

2011-12-29T12:30:00.000-05:00

Hanging with a wolf. I think we look foxxxy together. Earlier this month I went to the Association for Native Development in the Visual and Performing Arts (ANDVPA) Members feast at the Toronto Free Gallery and was surprised with this awesome exhibit by Nicolas Galanin. First I saw the Inert Wolf in the window and I was slightly scared, and then intrigued. It took me the entire dinner to work

PIPs versus POPs

2011-12-28T16:08:00.005-05:00

Late night inspiration after coming home from Joel's place where my roomie, Jas, and I ate awesome food and listened to fascinating conversations. We couldn't stop talking about PIPs and POPs on our way home and thought why not put my new vlogging prezzie to good use and discuss on camera. Yes we are ridiculous, we quite like it that way. Enjoy! Also I am never wearing a turtleneck ever again.

A Valentine (K) for the Holidays

2011-12-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

All images from Valentine K site As if you guys aren't lost and trying to figure out at the very last minute gift for that lucky lady in your life. My vote for this year is cashmere. I like to swathe myself in as much cashmere as humanly possible each winter, and my guess is your girl will like that too. Yes I need proper lighting, an HDSLR and a tripod. I knows. I was lucky enough to be

Connect Four

2011-12-22T08:41:00.000-05:00

Applique 4 by Fresh Vintage Designs Yesterday marked the 4th year of this blog. It's interesting that I chose to start this blog on the day of solstice. It has been such a journey these past 4 years learning, living, writing and sharing all along the way. I started the blog simply because I wanted to write. I was getting very busy in school and lacked the sufficient time to pitch and write for

The dating woes of a half-breed

2011-12-21T16:33:00.002-05:00

Still of Paulette Goddard from North West Mounted Police True love will conquer all. That is what most people are told from friends, from relatives, from society. That is all that matters when you are choosing your life partner. That is, unless you are Native. If you are Native (or even a half-breed like myself), then you have a whole history of colonization, assimilation, legislation, and

Circle of Life

2011-12-14T14:18:00.000-05:00

Photo by Ray Auger (aka @ojibray) Joseph Boyden at Circle of Light by iBo Last month Joseph Boyden spoke at the 'Circle of Light' conference here in Toronto. Instead of promoting one of his books or speaking about his writing life, he chose to talk about suicide amongst Aboriginal youth. "After much soul-searching these last years I've decided I need to speak out in ways beyond my

Crooked Arrows to your heart

2011-12-13T17:56:00.001-05:00

Michael Hudson to the left, Tyler Hill (Mohawk) to the right. I first wrote about Crooked Arrows April 25, 2009 and yet here we are 2.5 years later finally getting some real info (and not just endless casting calls) about the flick. It's a comedy about lacrosse with a Native American twist. The movie is about a 30-year-old of mixed lineage who must postpone his casino-building dreams to coach

My xmas wish list

2011-12-12T18:21:00.000-05:00

Illustration by LittleZ This is my 3rd year creating this wonderful little post here. I loves it because it really helps me visualize what I am truly lusting after. It works for me more of a "what do I really want" list for 2012 than a "what people should buy me" list. I look at it as setting intention. The first year I did it (in 2009), I got 67% of the items listed, and last year (in 2010), I

'Mukking Around Toronto': Guest blog by Sarah Yankoo

2011-12-08T09:06:00.002-05:00

Jarret and I strike a pose. Why do we look so Gossip Girl? By, Guest Blogger, Sarah Yankoo Walking in to the Bata Shoe Museum last week on Wednesday made me feel right at home: branded birchbark ornaments, a selection of delicious traditional comfort foods (bison, venison and bannock), A Tribe Called Red (ATCR) and, of course, mukluks everywhere! The evening started off with a chance to peruse

Wapsi not WASPy

2011-12-07T13:43:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I got a fashion shot-out by Paul Taylor, creator of Wapsi Square. A few weeks back I hung out with my Mohawk stuntman friend and tried on one of his many fur hats. This one in particular is coyote. Yes coyote. It lends a fuzzy feel to ones head much unlike when you have too many mimosas. Thanks for the nod Paul, I think Shelly looks great in her furry hat!

Manitobah Mukluks brings a Pow Wow to Toronto

2011-11-30T19:04:00.000-05:00

Tonight Manitobah Mukluks is presenting it's Fall/Winter 2011 collection tonight at Bata Shoe Museum. It's bound to be full of beautiful beadwork, sexy sounds, and fabulous fancy shawl dancing. The company has brought in A Tribe Called Red to provide the beats, Christina Bomberry to showcase her pow wow dancing style, and Waneek Horn-Miller to host the entire event. In short, it sounds

A chat about Attawapiskat

2011-11-22T17:53:00.000-05:00

I remember sitting in my marketing research class at Ryerson University where my professor was telling the class that the true measure of a home's worth was more readily told by the number of bathrooms and not the number of bedrooms. I was just a young student then, fresh from BC and not that far removed from seeing conditions on my home reservation. I naively spoke up and asked "What about

The great Aboriginal education debate

2011-11-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

Kenzie Wilson of Clear Lake, MB. Photo from the Globe & Mail. As some of you might already know, my full-time job is in Aboriginal education. I have been working as an Aboriginal Recruitment Officer for a Canadian university for the past year and a half. This means that I travel all throughout Ontario talking to First Nations peoples about their options in post-secondary education. This often

'CanAb Goes Electric': Guest blog by Sarah Yankoo

2011-11-21T14:09:00.000-05:00

Sarah Yankoo, Jacob Pratt and Lisa Charleyboy Introducing: Sarah Yankoo, Guest Blogger Hello all you pretty party people. It's Lisa Charleyboy your Urban Native Girl here. You may have noticed that my posts have been light as of late. That's because I am traveling ridiculous amounts and working like mad on the other things that keep me busy ... Of course I want to keep you all in the loop of

CANAB weekend yo

2011-11-17T17:34:00.001-05:00

Hey ya'll there is an exciting weekend coming up! Tonight is the Manitoba Aboriginal Artists Showcase at the Rivoli starting at 9 PM. Tomorrow night is the ever-fabulous Electric Pow Wow at El Mocambo with a special dance performance by Jacob Pratt. He's also going to be hanging at the York University booth at the Canadian Aboriginal Festival at the Exhibition Place. I know lots of you wanted

Osum = Awesome

2011-10-26T09:18:00.000-04:00

If you were watching my Twitter feed, you may have noticed that last weekend I was out west in Alberta. I was super excited to go and be a part of a fantastic event called the Osum Day for Aboriginal Women Entrepreneurs. I was a keynote speaker and talked about Digital Storytelling, and how women entrepreneurs can sell their business and services online in a compelling and unique way. There

Bagua Boards

2011-10-09T13:32:00.001-04:00

Earlier this year, I started my whole #SimplifyStreamline track where I'm minimizing the things in my life and simplify everything so I can focus on the things that are really important to me. I want to consistently push myself so that I can become the best person possible and live my life by design. I started a vision board back then and have had it clearly posted in my room so I can see it

Pendleton Perfection

2011-10-03T17:09:00.001-04:00

Amberae Wood in a Sho Sho Esquiro bustier and Turquoise Soul earrings.Photographed by Thoshographer.