Nothing to Hide

Artisan Morgyn McDonald

Métis Nation of Ontario – Region 6
She/They | 2S | LGBTQIA+ | AuDHD

Who are you and where are you from?
Hi, I’m Morgyn — a Métis fur trader, medicine trail keeper, and hunter-scrap salvager from Ontario. I am a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario (Region 6), with family ties that stretch from downtown Penetanguishene (Georgian Bay Métis), over as well as across the Medicine Line through Red River all the way to rural Athabasca.

I live in Birds Creek now, on 30 acres of muskeg and forested land. Here I helped to design a food forest and medicine trail system. We grow, gather, and build with the land — season by season, singing, telling stories and appreciating the heritage gifted to us by our parents and theirs.

What do you make?
I make wearable art in the form of bolo ties, pendants, earrings, and sash pins — all one-of-a-kind. I also make stickers from digital paintings I create based on stories and traditions I carry. In doing so I offer my kin and theirs the chance to carry with them a piece of home while on the road as we Métis so often are! Every piece I create is shaped by their respective seasons, the materials available then, and the stories held in the land and trade at the time. I work with what I can gather, clean, trade for, and salvage — following a long-standing Métis tradition of adaptability and resourcefulness in a world of wastefulness.

Why do you make this work?
I was taught to use what’s on hand and not let good material go to waste. This lead to distress when I one day witnessed a hunter disposing of his hunting hide refuse. I asked to help him recycle his materials and he gave the hides happily. That year I managed to salvage two hides into a useable fur intact rug, a gift for the hunter, and an indigo dyed buckskin which I shared with my community. My fur trade work is a way to use traditional harvesting and crafting methods to keep our practices active. I make these items to honour the people who raised me and to share what I’ve learned with others. Everything I make reflects the season, the land I’m on, and the community I belong to.

Where have I represented my family?
You can find my work in the Kooshkopayiw Art Exhibit (featured at the 31st MNO AGA), launching online soon. My pieces reflect the reconnections we build through craft, kinship, and memory, especially after long periods of distance within families. I’ve also had the honour of working with materials shared in trust — like a moose hide gifted by MNO Hunt Captain Greg Garratt of the Georgian Bay Métis — a responsibility I take seriously. Through gifts, craft, and care, I do my best to represent the Métis and Half-Breed family I proudly call kin.

I use three main kinds of materials...

Harvested Resources

Collected by hand through seasonal harvesting and respectful gathering on our trails and traplines:

Animal elements: feathers, bones, claws, scutes, scales, hides, skins, quills, hairs, and traditionally tanned leathers
Botanical materials: mushrooms, pressed leaves and flowers, barks, seeds, vines, roots, and plant casts
Natural textures: sands, clays, ashes, resins, minerals, and lakebed finds
Hand-worked fibres: woven plant threads, natural sinews, and bark-derived cordage

Traded & Gifted Resources

Materials from other Indigenous makers, fur harvesters, lapidaries, or local traders:

Shells, beads, wire, and metal scrap
Raw and cut gemstones
Fur remnants, horn tips, or fish leather
Tumbled stones, crystal offcuts, or polished fossils

These are often bartered, gifted, or exchanged in the spirit of kinship and collaboration. I know and provide sources and contact info for EACH resource and I keep tidy records if any buyer needs to refference their piece's personal history and components accurately.

Salvaged Resources

Sourced from waste streams and reworked with care:

Old costume jewelry components (clasps, brooch pins, bolo slides)
Offcuts of leather, fabric, and beadwork from discarded crafts
Broken metal findings, brass stampings, and vintage buttons
Repurposed packaging and containers for tool storage and safe shipping

I often reuse metal parts from old recycled jewelry, especially for clasps and clips. It is my belief personally that solid fasteners are the most reliable choice for wearable art, and until I can make my own, this is the only part of my work that isn’t made entirely by hand. I hope this can be forgiven or rectified by other artists I connect with one day or by the new owners of my artworks when they are the keepers of the pieces and have the right to alter them for their own purposes.

About: Nothing to Hide

Why is it called Nothing to Hide?
The name speaks to the value I see in what others often throw away — scraps, cast-offs, and overlooked materials. Many hunters today are forced to dump usable hides and parts due to lack of skills, time, or access. I connect with those hunters to help salvage, clean, and honour what would otherwise be wasted. It's about giving the hide — and the hunter — another purpose, while keeping fur trade traditions alive in Canada and my own Métis Nation!

Nothing to Hide is a studio and a brand.
My studio travels with me and my co-owner and life partner, Simon Bélanger. Together, we gather, craft, trade, and support others across Canada. It’s more than a workspace — it’s also a vendor stall and supply hub where I share materials, track down resources, and help kin and peers access what they need to make their own traditional goods. To us, our lives revolve around building our respective Nation's up, encouraging hands-on learning continent wide, and keeping our practices alive and accessible.