Reclaiming Indigeneity through Art
Currently residing on the unceded territory of the Sto:lo people, Chantelle TrainorMatties is an artist from British Columbia, Canada with Nisga’a and Métis heritage. She is a talented visual artist specializing in illustration, graphic design, painting and mural work. An entrepreneur, TrainorMatties enjoys the freedom of being her own boss and does primarily freelance work for private and commercial clientele through her small business Frettchan Studios. Her work ranges from bold contemporary Northwest Coast formline to charming cartoons to painterly realism, and many of her pieces have been displayed in various galleries in British Columbia.
SAY Magazine recently caught up with Trainor-Matties to learn more about being a small business owner and how she has been reclaiming her Indigeneity through many pathways including art.
SAY: You mentioned you grew up disconnected from your heritage. When and how did you start reclaiming your Indigenous identity?
Trainor-Matties: My journey of reclaiming my Indigeneity began in my mid-20s, learning more about our history, culture, and
arntwodrk of course, the because creating is how I express myself and connect with the world around me. My Indigenous ancestry is that of Nisga’a and Métis—the journey of reclaiming is a never-ending one, but it has been very ful lling, and I still have a lot of work to do. I’m currently closer to my Nisga’a roots and that is where my Indigenous visual art connection lies in my style of contemporary Northwest Coast formline that I illustrate alongside my other styles such as cartoons and realism.
SAY: Have you always been an artist?
Trainor-Matties: I’ve always loved to draw! It sounds cliché, but I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil. I can look back at all the creations my mother saved and see my journey through that pencil. I can see what I liked, what I was passionate about, what I was struggling with, what style I liked, and how it has developed up until now.
SAY: What was your journey to starting a business and becoming an entrepreneur? Trainor-Matties: I worked in the service industry for many years a er graduating high school. While I liked to draw, it was more of a hobby until I decided to go back to school at the University of the Fraser Valley for visual arts. I did a two-year diploma program there and learned a lot about who I was as an artist and an Indigenous person, and it revamped my love for painting. I made a lot of connections through my time in university and many doors opened for me to make money from what I love to do, creating!
It all happened so fast—it came to a point where I needed to register as a small business owner to sell my art and take on freelance opportunities. I had signed on with a social enterprise called Nations Creations (since sold) that supported Indigenous artists by putting their work on merchandise and paying fair royalties. is introduced me to the licensing part of the industry, and I continue to work with and license out my artwork to di erent companies today. Running a small business is no easy task. It is something I didn’t even know I would end up doing, but it’s been such a ful lling aspect of my career as an artist. I’ve been slowly expanding my business, painting anything from small canvases to large public murals, drawing digital illustrations and o ering graphic design work.