Beauvais receives coronation medal
Honouring designer Tammy Beauvais as she is awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal by AFN national chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak for her work elevating Indigenous artistry through contemporary Indigenous design. Courtesy Tammy Beauvais
Indigenous designer and entrepreneur Tammy Beauvais has been honoured with the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal, a distinction presented to her by Assembly of First Nations (AFN) national chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.
This recognition celebrates Beauvais’s decades-long leadership in elevating Indigenous artistry and reshaping contemporary Indigenous fashion.
For Beauvais, the honour represents both an emotional milestone and acknowledgment of years of challenging but rewarding work. “I’m very excited,” Beauvais said. “I’ve worked so hard for so long based on Indigenous fashion, and bringing Indigenous fashion to the mainstream.”
For more than 25 years, Beauvais has been a trailblazer in the Indigenous fashion industry, working tirelessly to create and develop a market for contemporary Indigenous design. When Beauvais began developing contemporary Indigenous fashion in the late 1990s, the landscape looked nothing like it does today. There were few platforms, little funding, no social media, and almost no market infrastructure to support Indigenous fashion entrepreneurs.
Despite these obstacles, she pressed forward, designing, producing, and bringing Haudenosaunee-inspired clothing directly to communities on both sides of the border. Her determination and passion since the 1990s have helped build a foundation for what is now a successful industry.
“It has not been easy. There was not social media, there was no funding, there were not a lot of things that are available now,” Beauvais said.
One of the most difficult chapters of her early career was a long struggle at the Canada-U.S. border, where she fought for the right to sell Haudenosaunee designs in Haudenosaunee homelands on both sides of the border.
“I fought for not only my rights as an individual Haudenosaunee woman entrepreneur but for all of our rights, our free border-crossing rights,” she said.
It got to the point where she faced confiscation of her products and vehicle.
“I had to stop, and it was heartbreaking,” she said.
Her persistence helped set the stage for the vibrant contemporary Indigenous fashion movement flourishing today.
Beauvais’ work extends beyond fashion. She traces her roots to a long line of Indigenous sewers, beaders, and designers, including her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, who supported their families through sewing and beadwork. Inspired by this legacy, Beauvais began creating children’s clothing at the age of 13, selling her first outfit in the early 1980s. Today, she remains a vibrant creative force in the Indigenous design community.
Her influence is felt not only through her designs but also through her role as a mentor and advocate. A year ago, Beauvais founded Matritrust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building financial literacy for Onkwehón:we.
“I want to create help for people who want to work on their money trauma, who want to create wealth, be secure in their life and their families, but then contribute back to their communities, and do good things within our community, within our nation.”
Receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medal is a testament to Beauvais’s enduring dedication and impact in the community.
Sign up for email updates from The Eastern Door
“Having this honour, this depth of acknowledgement presented to me, given to me, kind of contradicts all of that internalized oppression, and it helps me move through it and empowers me to continue the good work that I’ve been put on this Earth (to do).”
