Candice Allard

A proud Red River Métis woman, Candice Allard was born and raised in St Ambroise, Manitoba – a small Métis village on the marshy shores of Lake Manitoba. She is a Citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation and grew up surrounded by her Métis culture which included long days of hunting, trapping, fishing, and picking saskatoons. Candice is also Bald Eagle clan and was given the name Makade Giniw bimi-bineshi (Black Eagle Soaring) in a Midewiwin Ceremony. Mikisô means ‘eagle’ in Northern Michif.  

A recognized Red River Métis artisan, Candice teaches beading classes twice a week for post-secondary students, staff, faculty, and community members. Working closely with Indigenous students in university, Candice’s beading circles are therapeutic sessions, helping them connect to their Red River Métis culture and to navigate life on and off campus.  

Raising her two daughters independently, Candice focuses on cultivating and passing on Indigenous matriarchal values and was featured as a Métis Matriarch in the 2024 “Honouring our Métis Mothers” exhibition at the WAG – Quamajuq (Winnipeg Art Gallery). She received the life-long gift of creativity from her own late mother, Shirley, and while Shirley battled cancer, Candice ran a support campaign centred around beadwork. Shirley loved birds and her land was filled with various feeders designed to attract different kinds of birds. Hummingbirds held a particularly special spot in Shirley’s heart, so Candice’s campaign featured beaded hummingbirds she called Shirley Birds. This line of Mikisô jewelry builds on those meaningful avian connections, featuring colour combinations that evoke different bird species.