'We see ourselves as a place to get people inspired and take classes to teach the skills to make some products they see in the store.' 'To demonstrate that Potawatomi pride,' said Mosteller. While the gift shop was closed for three months, they developed new t-shirts and other items featuring the Potawatomi flag and language. Kelli Mosteller, the executive director of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center, said they shifted their focus to making more of their products available online, and they used it as a time to develop more products in house.

Many first language speakers, culture bearers and storyteller were lost-these are often the inspiration for artisans and their work. Today, Indigenous communities have the highest vaccination rate, but there is still a long way to go to recover. That dried up as the virus quickly spread through Indigenous communities, who were hit the hardest by the pandemic. Many made almost half their annual income selling at powwows, art markets, museum shows like the Heard Art Market and most notably the Santa Fe Indian Market. When the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, artists I spoke with were severely impacted by the shutdown. Provided A t-shirt from the Citizen Potawatomi Gift Shop

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