Post published:November 22, 2024

Preserving Native American Culture and Traditions Through Language and Craft

Ellie Mitchell is on a mission to preserve Indigenous languages, arts, and crafts to ensure that Native American culture and traditions remain vibrant for future generations.

A member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and a Michigan State University alum with a B.A. in Linguistics, Mitchell is using her MSU education to support tribal language programs across the country as the Indigenous Community Outreach Liaison for MSU’s Center for Language Teaching Advancement (CeLTA). In addition to this work, Mitchell also is the founder and owner of Bead & Powwow Supply, which promotes Indigenous arts, crafts, and fashion.

A picture of a woman wearing glasses and a black jacket siting at a table, smiling at the camera. On the table are colorful threads, beads, and sewing tools organized in a red tin box. — Ellie Mitchell at a recent beading workshop she led at MSU with another College of Arts & Letters faculty member.

Growing up on the Isabella Indian Reservation in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, where the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is headquartered, Mitchell was part of the first generation to attend a tribal-run school, the Saginaw Chippewa Academy, which is where her desire to preserve Indigenous languages first began. It was at the Saginaw Chippewa Academy that she first learned Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe nation that is now in danger of becoming extinct if not passed on to new generations.

“As a child, I heard so much about the importance of our language, so I wanted to learn it,” Mitchell said.

When she was in eighth grade, her Anishinaabemowinteacher left the school to join the faculty at Michigan State University. It was then, Mitchell said, that she decided she wanted to go to MSU so she could take her teacher’s Anishinaabemowin class. So, she worked hard, kept her grades up, and got into MSU when she graduated from high school four years later. She chose to major in Linguistics with a specialization in American Indian Studies.

Three people standing next to each other the peron on the left is a woman wearing a black suit. The person in the middle is a woman wearing a green graduation cap and gown, and the person on the right is a man wearing a black suit. — Ellie Mitchell with her parents at her graduation ceremony from Michigan State University.

“Linguistics let me study more language,” she said. “I took an intro class and was fascinated by it.”

While at MSU, Mitchell was awarded a Morris K. Udall Scholarship in recognition of her work on tribal policy related to Anishinaabemowin revitalization. She graduated from MSU in 2010 and later went on to earn an M.A. in Humanities from Central Michigan University with a focus on Native American Studies.

Language Preservation Work

Mitchell returned to Michigan State University in 2020 to support the Less Commonly Taught and Indigenous Languages Partnership, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as the Indigenous Community Outreach Liaison for CeLTA. Her work includes assisting tribal communities with language revitalization efforts and serving as a key contact within the vast MSU system.

Two women standing next to each other in an area with a lot of white folding chairs and a crowd of people can be seen behind them. The women are smiling and wearing bright-colored skirts and Native American knecklaces. — Ellie Mitchell (left) with Whitney Gravelle (right), who is the Bay Mills Indian Community President and an MSU alum. They are pictured here at the Bay Mills Indian Community Health Center.

“A lot of my work is to help tribal communities with the grant application process and with brainstorming ideas that could potentially be funded,” she said. “MSU is so huge, and sometimes finding the person you need to ask to get a question answered is difficult. So, it’s helpful for communities to have me as a contact point.”

In her role at MSU, Mitchell also works to pull together a centralized list of resources, making it easier for communities to find the materials they need to teach and preserve their language, which is essential for many Anishinaabemowin speakers who are scattered across North America.

Two pictures of hospital signs: the one on the left is light pink and reads A160, Billing, Diba'ige-gamig; the sign on the right reads X38, Radiology, Mazinaadin'igamig. — Two of the many signs Ellie Mitchell translated into Anishinaabemowin for the Bay Mills Indian Community Health Center.

One of Mitchell’s proudest accomplishments is the work she has done to translate signs for tribal health centers and schools into Anishinaabemowin.

“I helped a tribe in Michigan as it opened a new health center to translate all the placards outside the rooms, so they’re in English and Anishinaabemowin,” she said. “My tribe is opening a new school, and I helped translate the signs for that as well.”

Bead & Powwow Supply Business

While Mitchell’s work at MSU focuses on language preservation, her entrepreneurial journey is dedicated to keeping Indigenous arts, crafts, and regalia-making alive. Inspired by her mother, who made regalia for powwows and sold Indigenous crafts to supplement their family’s income, Mitchell founded Bead & Powwow Supply in 2011 to fill a void that she became aware of as an Indigenous artist herself.

“I couldn’t find the supplies I needed to make my artwork. It’s specialized, and there weren’t a lot of places online,” Mitchell said. “You might have to drive to South Dakota or Montana, and even then you may not find what you need.”

There are two photos here with both showing a woman wearing regalia. The photo on the left her dress is light blue and he is holding a black umbrella. The photo on the right her dress is brown and he is dancing. — Ellie Mitchell is pictured in both these photos wearing regalia.

Recognizing this widespread problem among Indigenous crafters, Mitchell wrote a business plan and launched Bead & Powwow Supply to make hard-to-find beads and other materials more accessible to Native crafters and cultural education programs.

Initially, she sold craft supplies and beadwork at powwows before opening an e-commerce shop. In 2023, as her online sales outpaced in-person sales, she opened a brick-and-mortar store in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she sells a wide variety of crafting supplies, from beads and ribbons to apparel from Indigenous-owned brands. She recently expanded her product line to include fiber art supplies and fabrics to meet the needs of a broader customer base, from beadwork artisans to quilters.

woman wearing a purple Native American dre with her back to the camera. She is looking at three other women who are in plain clothes. They all look to be talking to each other. — Ellie Mitchell wearing regalia and waiting on customers at a powwow where she was selling craft supplies and beadwork.

Mitchell is proud to create a space where both experienced artists and newcomers can find the materials they need to continue their work. She hopes to open a second store in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and expand her educational offerings by hiring an education coordinator to teach classes on beading and other traditional crafts.

As she continues to influence and support her community through her shop and outreach work, Mitchell’s passion for crafting remains as strong as ever.

A picture of pair of hands carefully holding a circular piece of fabric featuring an intricate design of a yellow and purple flower with green leaves, surrounded by a red beaded border. — A beading project that Ellie Mitchell is working on during a recent beading workshop she led with another College of Arts & Letters faculty member.

“I still get so excited with every shipment of beads,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for 13 years, and you’d think I’d have developed immunity to getting distracted by my own products, but no!”

As part of this year’s Native American Heritage Month events at MSU, Mitchell and Blaire Morseau, Assistant Professor in MSU’s Department of Religious Studies and an 1855 Professor, recently led a beading workshop that was open to everyone. Mitchell said she would like to hold more beading workshops in the future.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

As a successful business owner and community leader, Mitchell encourages young entrepreneurs to follow their passions, even if their interests seem unconventional or unrelated to traditional business paths. She believes that the skills and knowledge developed through personal interests and other fields of study can be surprisingly valuable in running a business.

a display in a store showing hundreds of brightly colored beads. — Some of the beads on display and for sale at the Bead & Powwow Supply store that Ellie Mitchell owns and operates in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“I’m really glad that I stuck with linguistics and something I was interested in,” she said. “Linguistics helped my communication skills, which really helps with marketing and dealing with customers and suppliers. I also did research projects as an undergrad and had to learn how to analyze data, which is helpful now. I know how to write a survey and write the questions to get the info I want.”

Her key message to aspiring business owners is to trust in their abilities, keep an open mind, and be willing to adapt.

“You can make a business out of just about anything,” she said. “Stick with what you’re passionate about and be open to learning along the way.”