Sierra Barber's artworks balance the layered experiences of her identity. Through oil painting and beadwork, two historically contrasting materials, she references Haudenosaunee visual and material culture, reclaiming and connecting stories both known and unknown. 

In this body of work, Barber references souvenir beadwork created by Mohawk and Tuscarora communities for the 19th century tourism industry in Niagara Falls. This style of beadwork, drawing from Victorian floral design and symbolism, appealed to tourists. Haudenosaunee cultural meaning hid within the pieces as plant imagery, creating a shared yet concealed visual language. Strawberries, a symbol of life in Haudenosaunee culture, appear prominently in souvenir beadwork and remain a personally charged symbol of resilience.

Sierra Barber (she/her) is an Upper Mohawk / mixed-European artist from Port Dover, ON, registered at the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Sierra completed an MFA in 2025 in the Painting and Drawing program at Concordia University in Tiohtiá:ke/ Montreal, QC. She graduated from OCAD University with a BFA in 2015, majoring in Sculpture and Installation with a minor in the Indigenous Visual Culture Program.

Her work has been shown in the annual Indigenous Art juried exhibition at the Woodland Cultural Centre, internationally in Aotearoa (New Zealand) at HOEA! Gallery and in the 7th edition of the Contemporary Native Art Biennial (BACA), Creation Stories, at Stewart Hall Art Gallery and the Rimouski Regional Museum. Her latest solo exhibition, Carrying Stories, was held at daphne, (Indigenous artist-run centre) in Montreal, QC.