Walking with Intention: Indigenous Modern Life with Jamie Gentry

In this episode of Beyond the Arts, Joe sits down with Jamie Gentry, a Danakhtak and Mamaleila Kla artist from the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation, whose moccasins are as much about relationship and story as they are about footwear. Jamie shares how being raised deeply rooted in culture, potlatches, and family travel shaped her sense of belonging and her path toward making moccasins as a way of life.

Jamie reflects on the moment she first learned to make moccasins and how the practice quickly became a magnetic pull she could not ignore. She describes her intentional process of never cutting into hide until she knows who a pair is for, treating each piece as a living co-creation that carries both her energy and the wearer's, and how color, conversation, and intuition guide her designs.

The conversation stretches into sustainability, slow making, and the healing power of connection—to our hands, our communities, and the land. Jamie talks about food sovereignty, her studies in holistic nutrition and herbal medicine, and her dream of creating a retreat space where Indigenous people can come to rest, be held by the land, and refill their spirits for the work they carry back home.