From the Land Creations is a handcrafted jewelry collective owned by indigenous sisters, Robyn & Shawna McLeod from Deh Gáh Got’ı̨ę First Nation (Fort Providence, NT). They’re both of Dene and Metis ancestry. The sisters, both born in Yellowknife and raised in Fort Providence, currently live-in different communities. Shawna is based in Yellowknives Dene First Nation Territory (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories) and Robyn is in unceded Kaska Territory (Ross River, Yukon). Their grandparents are Angus & Florestine McLeod from Fort Providence and, George and Celine Villeneuve from Fort Simpson/Inuvik.

The sisters began weaving together their distinct creative personalities through From the Land Creations. Their jewellery blends approaches and styles – the beauty of NWT traditions with the modern colourful experimentation. Each piece includes elements from the land or water; quills, moose hair, antler, sweet grass, caribou hair, shells, traditionally tanned hide and fur.

Both are very proud of their creative heritage. Their great-great grandmother Marie Madeline Lafferty (Grosse Kokum), from Fort Providence, was the originator of tufting. According to the story, she watched a nun twirling wool at Residential School and decided to try the same method with moose hair. In those days, wool was hard to come by and moose hair was all she had access to. She taught many Métis and Dene women in the area, and it’s still a common art practise in Fort Providence and across the North. They have been mentored by Dene/Metis Tufting Artist and their Aunty Noela McLeod.

Together Robyn and Shawna run From the Land Creations, and separately Robyn operates her own Indigenous futuristic fashion line. You will likely find a combination of both brands on this website. 

Robyn is a full-time conceptual artist and fashion designer, who has attended Blanc McDonald School for Fashion Design in Vancouver and has graduated from the Yukon School of Visual Arts.  

 Shawna is a part time artist that specializes in jewelry making, beading and tufting. She works full time at the Aboriginal Sports Circle NWT and has attended the Western Academy of Photography in Victoria, BC.

The sisters’ skills are not only limited to jewelry making, they're also reclaiming and actively practising hide tanning, babiche making, tufting, beading, flat quill work, tool making and harvesting. Both come from a long line of creative artists as both grandmothers were/are well known artists for producing high quality work. They thank the matriarchs in their family for passing down the love for art, creating and respect for the land.

Outside of creating, they both enjoy practicing Dene Games, riding snowmobiles, being out on the land with their families, and spending time together.