The Story of 4 Generations Creations

(10-minute read)

Weytk (Hello), my name is Ashley Michel & I am a Secwepemc Mother, Bachelor of Education Graduate, Self-taught Seamstress, Artist, & Owner of 4 Generations Creations.

My Business is inspired by 4 Strong Secwepemc Matriarchs of my family: My grandmother Charlotte Manuel, who is a Residential School Survivor, my mother Vicki Manuel, my sisters - Jada & Alecia, & my daughter, Aveah.

As a teenager, I didn’t know who I was or who I wanted to be. I had no goals or real purpose in life. I dropped out of University to gain life experience in all the wrong ways - but with that, came the biggest blessing in my life. I believe we all find our dreams & passions throughout our journeys and mine came through in my daughter. She changed me for the better & has helped shape me into the Women that Creator had set out for me to be. My daughter, Aveah is my “Why” & reason behind EVERYTHING I do.

My entrepreneurial journey started in 2013 when my daughter was born. It was important to me that she grew up with a positive sense of self identity & had more opportunity to be connected to Culture and Language than I had growing up. A better future for us meant travelling to pow wows. At that time I was a Single Mother & I couldn't afford to purchase traditional attire - so, I decided to teach myself. There was a lot of trial and error - but I did it. I was excited to create new pieces for my daughter and I to wear. I started an Instagram page to share my creations & made extra income by selling them at pow wows & gatherings. Soon enough, I began taking custom orders for traditional jewelry, ribbon skirts, ribbon shirts, & regalia from people across Turtle Island. The demand was so high, my family had to help me bring my customers' visions to life. That's when I decided to take a risk and believe in myself. I quit my job in 2018 to go full force with my business & I have never worked for anyone else since then.

The global shut down in 2020 due to COVID-19 brought an abrupt halt to pow wows, gatherings, and events forcing me to quickly adapt in order to provide for my daughter and I. During quarantine, Aveah & I joined TikTok, like many others, to pass time. While initially engaging in dances and trends, I quickly realized the app’s potential as a valuable business tool. That's when I decided to teach myself to draw digitally by learning through TikTok tutorials. I created my 1st Indigenous Sticker Collection, created a video showcasing them, and it went VIRAL. I successfully sold out of my initial stock, which allowed me to cover my expenses, purchase groceries, & critically re-invested back into my business by acquiring a Cricut & heat press machine. These tools enabled me to expand my product line to include apparel and accessories with my designs, thereby creating an affordable, educational, & empowering Indigenous brand. This expansion was instrumental in helping my business thrive through the challenges of Covid-19 and added significant value post-pandemic. What started as a survival pivot quickly grew into something much bigger. It was the beginning of what would become 4 Generations Creations, an apparel and accessories brand rooted in Indigenous identity, education, and empowerment. A brand that creates awareness on Indigenous issues while providing the authentic representation I didn’t have growing up, and that our children & future generations deserve today.

Post-covid, I continued travelling to pow wows when possible, but ultimately decided to start selling my products on Etsy because I decided to go back to University full-time and join the Bachelor of Education. I wanted to be a teacher. Knowledge is power and I found that I enjoyed educating others about Indigenous history, culture, language, and resiliency.

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(TW: this section talks of generational trauma & death)

In my last semester, right before graduation, at the end of 2022, my sister passed away due to cirrhosis of the liver. I didn’t know the full weight of what she was carrying, and I didn’t fully understand how generational trauma, shows up in our bodies, our habits, and our pain.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: we can’t heal by ignoring the pain. And we can’t talk about Indigenous success or entrepreneurship without talking about the impacts of intergenerational trauma. It’s not a past tense thing... it’s a now thing. It lives in our families, affects our mental health, and shows up in the ways we’ve had to push, adapt, and keep going just to make it through.

But Alecia's (my sister) story also reminds me why authentic Indigenous representation is not just important... it’s essential. When our stories are told honestly, with all their complexity, beauty, and truth, we begin to dismantle the harmful narratives that have tried to define us for generations.

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After graduating with a Bachelor of Education in 2023, I was at a cross-roads: do I pursue a new career as a teacher OR dedicate myself to 4 Generations Creations, which was rapidly gaining momentum. Ultimately, I decided to continue pursuing my business and use my degree to create content, designs, and curriculum that will educate others and help in reconciliation of our culture and language. The best of both worlds in my opinion.

Traveling to various pow wows over the summer with my daughter made me aware of a clear need for traditional crafting supplies. I acted on this demand by securing wholesale sources for materials like fabric, beads, and ribbon, and began selling these items.

Our pow wow adventures brought me to Winnipeg, Manitoba, almost 20 hours away from Kamloops. I wanted an opportunity to present my business to Pow Wow Pitch for a chance to win the grand prize. I prepared my 1-minute speech but didn't even place in the top 10. I took this as a learning opportunity and refreshed my speech, submitted a video pitch which advanced me to semi finals, where I placed 2nd as “People’s Choice”, then ultimately Won Pow Wow Pitch for 2023.

Ashley Michel, 4 Generations Creations, Wins 2023 Pow Wow Pitch - Pow Wow Pitch

Winning the grand prize provided the necessary jumpstart for my first physical storefront. This move was essential as 4 Generations Creations had simultaneously outgrown my home, leading me to seek a new commercial space. I found the perfect leasing opportunity & we quickly got to work renovating the small 700sf unit. Our grand opening in November 2023 was a collaborative effort, allowing us to support seven other Indigenous businesses by purchasing their products. Only 6 months later, due to rapid growth, we acquired the adjacent unit increasing our total retail space to 2,200 sq ft. We have since hired 9 Indigenous Employees and currently support over 50+ Indigenous Businesses & Artists in-store.

In 2025, we've proven resilient yet again in the face of new challenges. Changes to U.S. tariffs forced us to stop shipping to the United States which previously accounted for 60% of our parcels. Despite that loss, we still have demonstrating the strength of our brand and our Canadian market & have continued to grow and expand exponentially year over year.

Our social media presence has played a major role in that growth as 4 Generations Creations has built a strong, engaged audience across all platforms:

TikTok (verified in 2025) 182K followers (Follow Us Here)
Facebook 83k followers
Instagram 66k followers

These platforms aren’t just marketing tools for us. They are spaces for education, visibility, and conversation. They allow us to reach people daily, tell our stories in our own voices, and drive both online and in-person sales.

Our work has also been recognized beyond our community. In 2025, I was named Youth Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year by BC Achievement.

4 Generations Creations - BC Achievement Foundation

We also received multiple Kamloops Best Of awards, including:

Overall TikTok Account
Overall Instagram Account
Overall Website
Local Influencer
And Local Entrepreneur Under 40

And now, once again, our current store location is bursting at the seams. Our current lease is ending soon, and the timing aligns perfectly with our next step. Our goal is to expand and outfit into a new 4,000sf unit in a development on our reserve (Tk'emlups), which is nearing completion.

This part matters deeply to me. I want to be in my home community. I want our people, especially our youth, to see what’s possible. 4 Generations Creations has become a one-stop shop for everything Indigenous and pow wow, and bringing that fully home means access, pride, and economic opportunity where it’s needed most.

This business is not just about retail. It’s about economic reconciliation. It’s about representation. It’s about creating pathways for Indigenous entrepreneurship, mentorship, and sustainability.

Everything I’ve built has been done with future generations in mind, so that our children inherit more than stories... they inherit thriving, Indigenous-owned businesses that stand as proof of what’s possible.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my story.