Give an Elder (in Training) a Mic: Beading & Conversation
Join us for a morning of making, storytelling, and community at The Chapter House. The program begins with a beading workshop designed by Kimberly Robertson (Mvskoke), facilitated by The Chapter House. As participants settle into their beadwork, the workshop will transition into a conversation between Emma Robbins and Nizhoni Begay, inspired by The Chapter House’s Give an Elder a Mic format.
Together, Emma and Nizhoni will reflect on creativity, community, advocacy, and the stories that shape their work, inviting attendees to continue beading throughout the discussion. Like many Indigenous art practices, beadwork offers space for conversation, reflection, and connection. Knowledge is shared as much through our hands as through our words. Whether you’re new to beading or have been practicing for years, this gathering offers an opportunity to create alongside community while listening, learning, and engaging in meaningful dialogue.
This program is being held offsite at The Chapter House, located at 3007 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026.
The Chapter House cultivates Indigenous joy through art, performance, celebration, and collaboration to nurture a vibrant, re-emergent Indigenous identity in the 21st century.
A large part of the modern Native experience is protest. While protests are crucial to fight for Indigenous sovereignty and dignity, there are few spaces in urban centers off reservations for Natives to convene, discuss, and heal when protests end—and fewer that celebrate the importance of art and artists to Indigenous Peoples.
The Chapter House is a place for Indigenous Peoples and allies to appreciate art, convene and collaborate, celebrate individual and shared Indigenous cultures, and explore the complexities of the 21st Century Indigenous experience. This is a space for Indigenous empowerment and community, but all who share a desire for universal empowerment are welcome here.
Emma Robbins (she/her) is a Diné artist, activist, and community organizer. She founded The Chapter House in 2020 while serving as the Executive Director of the Navajo Water Project. There she collaborated with communities to expand access to clean, running water to the one in three Navajo families without it on her reservation. Emma completed her BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and studied Latin American Art History in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Through her artwork, she strives to educate viewers about issues like broken treaties and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. She has exhibited both in the U.S. and internationally. Emma served on the Arizona Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and is a senior Aspen Institute Fellow. www.emmarobbins.com
Nizhóní Begay (she/her) is Diné and Quechua from Tucson, AZ with roots in San Antonio and now based in Los Angeles. She is the Programming + Communications Coordinator at The Chapter House. Nizhóní is also the Event and Grant Manager at the Lindy Waters III Foundation where she supports the Foundation’s work and leads the College Prep mentorship program for Native youth. She also does the communications for the Sage-Based Wisdom podcast with Indigenous comedians Jana Schmieding and Brian Bahe. Previously, she worked for four years at the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, where she graduated with a degree in Political Science and minors in Music and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. In 2020, she was awarded the Award of Excellence from the Stanford Alumni Association, recognizing the top 10% of her class for leadership, service, and extraordinary Stanford spirit. In her free time, Nizhóní loves to attend Star Wars conventions.
