Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week — with Joleen Mitton

In this episode, the founder of the Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week Joleen Mitton sits down with host Am Johal to discuss how and why she started the fashion show. They touch upon Joleen’s experiences as a teenage model and Indigenous youth mentor, along with her previous collaborations with critically acclaimed Indigenous artist Beau Dick. This year's Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week runs from Nov. 18-21, 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Please visit their website for information and tickets: http://vifw.webflow.io/ Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/29-joleen-mitton.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/29-joleen-mitton.html Bio: Joleen Mitton, East Vancouver born and bred, is no less proud of her Plains Cree, Blackfoot heritage. She began modeling at age 15 when a Vancouver talent scouts pulled her out of a crowd of people at the PNE. She feels extremely fortunate to have succeeded in her career as a model. She has a large portfolio created while traveling to exotic locations, working in a variety of mediums and meeting incredible people from across the globe. Joleen's passion for sport, art, fashion and design and social justice has lead her to focus on producing Aboriginal Fashion Shows and Basketball Tournaments across the city. Joleen has succeeded in raising awareness for local indigenous fashion and the Native Basketball community by hosting tournaments and producing fashion shows in Vancouver. She recognizes art and sport have a massive power in transforming and connecting people to their communities. She is dedicated to improving the lives of people in her community, working intimately with a number of local non profits, putting her PR, marketing, social media and producing skills to good use. Joleen works with the Aboriginal Urban Butterflies Day Camp, a program for children in foster care, and the Mentor Me program which is for Native girl's aging out of foster care, and manages and plays on All My Relations women's basketball team. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Johal, Am. “Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week — with Joleen Mitton.” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, November 4, 2019. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/29-joleen-mitton.html.