By Kylie Franklin
This upcoming April, the Tuscarora Nation will be holding their annual Spring Boutique at the Tuscarora Nation Building. From 10am to 4pm on April 12th, the Spring Boutique will be open and welcome to all, filled with craft and food vendors, and even a visit from the Easter Bunny.
The Spring Boutique has been going on for the past five years, starting back in 2018 but temporarily being shut down due to Covid-19. The first year Spring Boutique was created, it was run by Gahadineh Greene and her cousin, but now Greene organizes and runs the boutique on her own. Each year Greene donates the proceeds from the boutique to Ride for Roswell, a nonprofit cycling event held for fundraising and honoring cancer survivors, where donations go towards Roswell Park for cancer research. The Spring Boutique started off as a place where people could come and buy Easter presents and beaded eggs – a plastic egg with an intricately beaded lace-like covering usually done with an indigenous pattern. Greene noticed that during the spring time there weren’t many craft opportunities, so she and her cousin decided to start and expand the boutique as a place to come and buy gifts for family and friends for Easter. Now Greene runs the boutique on her own, using donations and her own money to run this event each year, and even offering to help vendors from out of town set up their tables and spots.
The Boutique itself is an event where everyone is welcome. There are a variety of vendors and goods to admire and enjoy, as well as fresh food being served by the Tuscarora Language group. “I have vendors throughout the entire building, selling an assortment of everything, some do craft, some have food, some are just fundraising, some just do information. Artists coming with their artwork,” says Greene as she describes the boutique. “This year I have 71 vendor spots full, and I believe there’s 64 vendors, because some of them have more than one spot” explains Greene. Preparations for this year come along swiftly as she anticipates and plans for the boutique.
At the Spring Boutique there will be a variety of vendors, from hand-poke tattoos to homemade baked goods. The boutique will be an opportunity for anyone interested in buying Haudenosaunee raised beadwork, a unique and beautiful craftform predominantly created within Iroquois nations. Tuscarora WoodWords will also be in attendance, an Indigenous owned and operated small business that specializes in wood crafting as well as traditional beadwork. There will also be vendors selling handmade clothing, accessories, beads, fabric, and much more.
The Easter bunny will be making an appearance at the Spring Boutique from 11am to 3pm, carrying little treats and wearing her best ribbon skirt. The Easter Bunny plans on carrying mini-frybreads as a little treat to give out. Pictures with the Easter Bunny are always encouraged, so be sure to stop and say “Hi” to her before she leaves. For anyone unsure of where to buy gifts for their family and loved ones, the Spring Boutique will have a variety of gifts for this upcoming Easter.
The Spring Boutique is a community event at the Tuscarora Nation, a place where members of the community can gather and support each other. When it comes to buying beadwork, it isn’t as simple as walking into a store like Walmart and buying something off the shelf, so events like these are excellent ways to have the opportunity to buy unique, handcrafted beadwork from local shops and families. When buying from vendors at the boutique you will be supporting local small businesses as well as families. When buying beadwork not only are you buying something authentic and individual, beadwork is a traditional artform to Tuscarora, used with techniques passed down from generations. The boutique is welcoming to all, for people to come and shop, enjoy the environment and culture, and support small businesses and families. For anyone interested in attending, it will be located at the Tuscarora Nation House, 5226 Walmore Road, Lewiston, NY 14062, on Saturday April 12th from 10am-4pm. We hope to see you there.
Spring 2026 
Leave a comment