In the words of my late grandmother, “Let me tell you an old Indian story…”

She started stories like that all the time. Sometimes they were old Indian stories. Sometimes they absolutely were not. That was part of her humor.

But the story of RavenRabbit really does begin with her.

The raven was my grandmother's animal guide. Ravens seemed to find her wherever she went. On trips, one might land on the car. Walking somewhere, a raven might appear alongside her. They were simply always there.

The jackrabbit carries a different meaning for me. It holds deep importance within my Tribe, the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada. Rabbits provided food and fur that helped our people through cold winters, and the Rabbit Boss held an important leadership role, determining when the hunt would happen, where it would take place, and how many rabbits would be taken.

As a little girl, I was obsessed with a VHS about the Rabbit Boss. I watched it over and over again, fascinated by this role that brought together leadership, responsibility, tradition, and care for the community.

I could not have known then how much those two animals would come to mean in my own life.

Today, my sons carry their names.

And RavenRabbit carries them forward into my work.

It holds my grandmother.
It holds my Tribe.
It holds my children.
It holds where I come from and what I am building next.

RavenRabbit isn't just the name of my business. It is a story of who I am.