Chayanne Reeves
Hi! I’m Chayanne Reeves and I grew up in a little town in Maryland. I am Birdtail Dakota Sioux on my mom's side and Mandan/Hidatsa on my dad's side! My mom was adopted as part of the Sixties Scoop, so her (as well as my brother and I) grew up with white family away from traditional teachings. When I moved to Utah for college, I really took the time to think about what it meant for me to be Native, even though that is how I identified my whole life. I taught myself to bead as a way to help me continue to reconnect and decided to start this business with one of my best friends, Kally, who shares a similar story of adoption. It has been so fun and rewarding to bead, and add a bit of modern and girly flair to the pieces we create! I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoy making them.
Kally Billings
I’m Kally, a watercolor artist + and learning beader from Iowa. I’m Lakota (Lower Brule and Oglala) and Salvadorean. I’m also adopted, and I hold deep love for both my biological and adoptive families. Getting to know my birth mother, who is native, has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. Reconnecting with her has opened a door to ancestral love, biological connection, culture, and belonging that I’d been searching for.
I met Chay in a Civil Rights Seminar class in college. We connected over being Sioux, our shared love of all things girly, and over a similar family story. Little Star Trading grew out of that friendship and out of the shared desire to reclaim, learn, and contribute to our community! With Little Star Trading, we are able to express a love for our creator, people, and the earth we share with amazing animals, through creating art. We love empowering indigenous women with hand made jewelry + fashion made especially to celebrate native joy.