About the brand
First Nations Gallery turns the drawings of Indigenous artists across Western Canada into finished gold and silver jewellery, returning real, ongoing income to the artists who create the work. The Vancouver company was founded by John Velten, a Dene-German artist who abandoned an electrician's trade after a chance meeting with Tahltan artist Alano Edzerza, then apprenticed under Haida carvers and trained in 3D modelling. That rare fluency in both Northwest Coast art's ancient visual language and modern metalworking lets the gallery close a gap most artists face alone: turning a drawing of a Raven or Bear crest into sterling silver or 14-karat gold. It operates as a bridge between remote artistic communities and buyers across Canada, the US and Europe. The model keeps cultural knowledge in Indigenous hands while giving it commercial reach. First Nations Gallery is reconciliation practised as commerce.
