Vina Brown

Copper Canoe Woman

Yáu I'm Vina Brown, owner and operator of Copper Canoe Woman Creations. My ancestral Haíłzaqvḷa name is ƛ̓áqva gḷ́w̓aqs, which roughly translates to Copper Canoe Woman.

I create modern, on-trend, Indigenous jewelry that's infused with elements of my coastal Indigenous culture and identity. I design pieces I want to wear, big statement pieces with a deep connection to ancestral strength and elegance. I'm inspired by the natural realm, living in the present time, existing as a capitalist and constantly having to choose every day to honor the Earth. Always, I am also inspired by my family and from within my culture. I come from weavers and beaders, through both my Haíłzaqv and Nuu-chah-nulth families. We have a history of loving beauty and wearing our culture on ourselves that stretches beyond linear timelines.

Through art I've become connected to my roots in ways I never imagined. This journey has been an unraveling, a reclamation of Indigenous womanhood and of creation. I am grateful for my identity, my culture, that I carry in this physical realm, and I am grateful for you. Without your support it would be so much harder to be vulnerable and share parts of my soul I'd otherwise keep hidden. I am grateful to be my true self with you. All work comes from kind intentions and hopefully my most authentic self.

I hope you are good, I hope you are taken care of, sending you light and love.

Tkleco, Tkleco.

- Vina Brown