Carly Nabess

I was born and raised in the traditional territory of the Tsimshian people. I am grateful to the Tsimshian people and communities who have welcomed me, and I continue to work at being a good and grateful guest on their lands. The rivers and woods of the northwest, here in Terrace BC, have raised me, and that is reflected in the work I create.

Hello, my name is Carly Nabess, and I am a Métis relational maker whose work is rooted in stitchwork. I am an interdisciplinary maker, creating Métis flatstitch beaded pieces that are co-created with the ancestors, my various mentors, and sometimes my dog kin. My work is a collaboration between land, place, kin (including plant and Banjo, my pup), mentors, archival documents and the ancestors.

My current practice focuses on stitching tuppies (dog blankets) and relating to themes of reclamation, Indigenous joy as a form of resistance to colonial oppression, longing/nostalgia, intergenerational transmission of knowledge, love, and healing.

I also created beaded and tufted watercolour landscape paintings, as well as murals co-created with the community and youth. My work integrates my diverse cultural background and a diversity of mediums, from paint to beads and woodburning to ink.

Paternal Métis Lineage -My father (Gayton Nabess - Métis carver). His father, my paternal grandfather, Andre "Andy" Nabess, was born in The Pas to parents William and Elizabeth Nabess née Campbell. My grandmother, Olive Nabess née O'Neil, was born in The Pas, Manitoba, in 1935 to my great-grandparents, Rose Delaronde from Skownan, Manitoba, Treaty 2 Territory, and Alvin O'Neil. My grandfather, “Andy,” was also born in The Pas to parents William “Bill” and Elizabeth Nabess née Campbell.

I introduce my lineage because it situates me within my Métis community and identity.

*Thank you, KC Adams, for the term relational maker.