Sage Paul of Indigenous Fashion Arts on why thinking sustainably is innately an Indigenous cultural practice & why we must see Indigenous designers on a global stage

<p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">In episode 287, Kestrel welcomes Sage Paul, an award-winning artist and designer, to the show. An urban Denesuliné (Den-a-sooth-leh-nay) woman based in Toronto and a member of English River First Nation, Sage is the artistic director and founder of <a href="https://indigenousfashionarts.com" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Indigenous Fashion Arts</a>.</p> <p><strong>“There’s all this talk about sustainability and you know buy this or buy that, but the truth is, is that these corporations that are preaching this are just making too much. They are making too much, they are mass producing it, and the way that they mass produce it is unsustainable for the Earth. And so, it just doesn’t seem like they’re painting the full picture for everyone. But then going back to cost — is the fact that people aren’t getting paid enough in order to purchase items that are quote unquote sustainable, because the only thing that’s accessible are these mass-produced items.” -Sage</strong></p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">You may have noticed that the idea of *sustainability* is often aligned with luxury or having extra money to invest in less harmful things or less polluting options – for example, an electric car or organic produce or a more thoughtfully-made garment. These options generally cost more than the conventional option in our society. </p> <p class="">While there are a lot of narratives challenging the eliteness of sustainability today, the mainstream conversation has been led by a very white and capitalist-centered idea that promotes buying this, instead of that product. </p> <p class="">Like we talked about on last week’s show with Kristine of Doen, the sustainability conversation has been very binary in its approach – very good vs bad, and often, oversimplifies what quote unquote sustainability could look like.</p> <p class="">Through several conversations on the show, we’ve explored how <strong><em>resourcefulness</em></strong> is a grounding pillar of true sustainability. But it’