About Jenna
Jenna Bjornson is Red River Métis with family from Fort Carlton, Saskatchewan. Jenna is a descendant of John Peter Pruden, a Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Jenna is currently based in Toronto.
As an artist, Jenna has become part of the local Toronto and GTA Indigenous Arts Community. She has participated in events such as the Native Child and Family Services Powwow, and the Native Canadian Centre Holiday Market. Jenna has always been a lover of arts and crafts and began beading to reconnect with her culture.
Jenna focuses on traditional Métis designs as well as contemporary Indigenous designs. Jenna also uses her beadwork as advocacy and awareness, creating beaded pieces to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Residential School Survivors.
Jenna supports Indigenous arts not only as an artist but also behind the scenes. Jenna is currently the Operations Manager for the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and a professor at Fanshawe College's Music Industry Arts program. Jenna works to ensure that Indigenous culture, practices, and stories are authentically told and presented.
Workshops + Experience
Beaded Flower Pin Workshop l Fanshawe College (London, Ontario)
April 2025
As a culminating activity for the Miskasowin course at Fanshawe College, I facilitated 4 beading workshops for over 80 students.
Indigenous Beading Workshops l Gallery TPW (Toronto, Ontario)
February 2025 & March 2025
As part of the exhibition Smoke Signals by Jesse King, I facilitated 2 beading workshops, one that was open to anyone and one strictly for the Indigenous community. These workshops were free to attend.
Beaded Bolo Tie Workshop l Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, Ontario)
June 2024
The Art Gallery of Ontario asked me to facilitate a series of workshops for Indigenous youth to create their own beaded bolo tie. This course was free and open to all Indigenous youth.
Indigenous Beading Workshops l SunWest School Division (Davidson, Saskatchewan)
December 2022 & January 2023
The SunWest School Division asked me to facilitate two beading workshops for two groups of Grade ⅚ students. Through these workshops, I was able to share my cultural practices and educate not only the students but also the teachers.
