Turning pain into power: How a Cree fashion designer is working to inspire Indigenous youth

When Stephanie Gamble watched her mother modeling the first dress she made, smiling widely and walking down an imaginary runway, she knew this was what she wanted to continue doing with her life.

A single Plains Cree mother from the Birdie and Okemasis Cree Nation near Duck Lake, Sask., Gamble has lived many lives.

Her Cree name is Piesivok-Kitov Pieyesiv Iskev, which means Thundering Thunder Woman.

She was surrounded by addiction and trauma as a child, surviving time in foster care and the death of her brother from an overdose. She raised her siblings and became a mother, grandmother and mentor to many Indigenous youth, women and Two-Spirit people.

“I basically turned my pain into strength,” Gamble said in an interview in Saskatoon while she was in town to design outfits for a youth fashion show.

“I needed a way to heal—and fashion was my outlet,” she said.

Amidst the addiction, family instability and intergenerational trauma surrounding her, she had “no one to turn to…except herself and prayer,” she said.

She said she wanted to find a way to get out of this life of struggle, heal and create a new life full of positivity, opportunity, health and generational wealth.

“Really just get rid of the victim mentality and have a winner mentality,” she said.

Her entry into the fashion world began with a gift: a sewing machine and a bucket of fabric. Watching her mom model her first creation gave her strength, she said.

“This is what I need to do for women who have been through a lot in their lives, to give them this opportunity, this transformation and this inspiration.”

Her first fashion show took place in Saskatoon, where she lived most of her life. But soon her projects began to spread far beyond Saskatchewan, all the way to New York, Italy and France.

She made the difficult decision to leave Saskatoon after the death of her brother plunged her into deep grief. She wanted to give her children a good life, away from addiction and trauma, so she raised her family and moved to Calgary.

A role model for her children and Indigenous youth.

Wherever she goes, Gamble takes Indigenous young people with her. Some had never left Saskatchewan or been on a plane before.

“You're breaking the cycle. You're just showing them that life is worth living,” she said. “And there are so many opportunities out there, bigger than your backyard.”

One of those young people is her niece Haven Angus, who worked as a model in New York and said the experience gave her confidence.

“I used to be very shy, but now I can talk. I can be confident. It's been a really amazing journey,” Angus said.

Fellow fashion designer Heather Boucher, also of Beardy's & Okemasis Cree Nation, has worked with Gamble on several projects, including fashion shows supporting Indigenous and Two-Spirit youth.

“I survived boarding school,” she said. “I’ve been through a lot of trauma, but I take it all with me and use it as a tool and build strength and try to empower others.”

Growing up, Boucher said her family didn't have enough money, support or opportunities, so now she creates them for others.

“I like to give back because I come from this two-spirit young man,” Boucher said.

“There’s something about using your creativity in any way possible and just finding a really solid outlet.”

What happens next

Next year, Gamble will open her first store in Calgary, a milestone she once only dreamed of.

This space will sell her unique products, accessories and jacketsas well as conduct sewing workshops, youth empowerment sessions and traditional regalia making.

Gamble said she measures her success not just on the runway, but in the lives of the people she touches.

“I just want young people to believe in themselves,” she said. “There are so many opportunities here. They are already within your reach.”