Melissa Fowler is an Anishinaabe diverse media artist who works with beadwork, textiles, and birchbark. She is the co-owner of Creatively Indigenous, creating and selling birchbark, buckskin, and bull horn jewelry and
beadwork.
Melissa graduated from Lac Courte Oreilles University in 2011 with an Associate of Arts degree in Casino Management and a 2016 graduate from University of Wisconsin Stout with a Bachelor of Science in Human
Development Family Studies. In 2018, she decided to embark full-time in her business, Creatively Indigenous.
Melissa has always loved art; as a teenager she recalls enjoying pottery and painting, but her journey in traditional Anishinaabe art began over 15 years ago when she received her Anishinaabe name and started to
embrace ceremonies. Niigaaniigaabowikwe is her Anishinaabe name, meaning “first standing woman.” “I was drawn to birchbark right away; it was my gateway into other mediums, and I learned how to bead by beading on birchbark. Old woodland style adornments inspire me. I love pairing contemporary materials and styles with traditional materials and techniques to create unique art that pushes traditional Anishinaabe art further.”
She is a Lac Courte Oreilles tribal member with ties to Fond du Lac and Red Cliff tribes and has been a St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin community member for over 24 years where she resides with her husband, Thomas, and seven children.
