Conversations with Megan Schnitker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Schnitker. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Megan Lynn Schnitker grew up in Milks Camp South Dakota located on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Reservations. Megan is an enrolled member of the Sicangu Oyate (SEE-chan-GU Oh-YA-te) or Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Her parents are Charles and Marla Bull Bear of Milks Camps South Dakota. Charles, is hereditary chief or Naca (NaCHa) of the Kiyaksaya (KEE – ya-SKa) Band of Oglallas. Megan is the oldest of 4 siblings and the only daughter, it was said by her grandpa Richard Broken Nose that Megan is the first, first born daughter of a Naca Bull Bear in over 300 years.

In Megan’s childhood she began learning about plants and their uses from her uncle Neil. When she was around the age of 8 she met her great grandmother Eva Bull Bear who began telling her stories of plants and how Lakota people used them. This sparked an interest in Megan to continue asking Lakota elders about plant knowledge as it didn’t seem to be too common, a lot of the teachings. Megan began to learn all of the stories and ceremonies that used specific plants from her elders, a treasure she holds dear as many of her teachers have journeyed into the spirit world.

Megan moved to Mankato MN in late 2015 and immediately began working in the community assisting people in recovery finding gainful employment and sober community connections, over the years Megan has been on many boards for various non-profit organizations such as the YWCA, Twin Rivers Art Counsel and others, volunteered for Mahkato Wacipi, Indigenous People’s Day Committee and multiple events in Mankato. Indigenous history and culture revitalization is very important to Megan as she works in Mankato and surrounding communities to provide various educational events throughout the year.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Creating Lakota made has been a learning experience that has been great and stressful. If you love something it’s never smooth sailing. I have been working on growing Lakota Made for 3 years, with a big push from my husband. I have been making all of our own remedies for years. I was a stay at home mom for a couple of years and was needing more to do with my time, also living on one income with a growing blended family was really hard. So with a few months of convincing, I posted a few extra salves I had made and they sold right away. I took the sale money and bought more supplies and kept this processing going until I had a table of products. I then sought out my first vendor event, and then booked all my weekends from there on out and soon I was making more money than my husband, our friend Gus had then joined in the adventure during his free time to bag soaps. Then COVID happened. All of the vendor events cancelled in one day, my husband’s construction business completely done in 3 days with customers cancelling 10 months’ worth of scheduled work. We had a very scary weekend of reality of no income, no ability to make an income, after a day of or two of panic we took a huge risk and took the last of our funds and invested in online ads for Lakota Made’s website, and the sales began rolling in, so much so we had to reach out for help. That was 2 years ago, now I employ two of my 3 brothers, husband and two friends that help us run Lakota made full time. our current struggles are we do this with no investors, no back up funds, no bank loans, etc. just our weekly sales. and it has been amazing to get this far this way. Right now our stresses are we have grown out of our current production space, and retail space, and we are looking to expand.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been making indigenous regalia for close to 25 years, I first learned the basics from my momma bear and uncle Steve. Since then I have made 100s, of different styles and sizes of regalia for myself and others over the years. Beadwork, sewing, painting and teachings others as well! Our Lakota art work is something I have loved to teach sharing the teachings and purposes behind each piece has been a blessing to me, watch artists flourish from there and support their families! Indigenous Herbalism is something that is definitely an art all its own as the process of making these beautiful products takes time, knowledge and lots of patience. I am very proud of all the products that I have developed for Lakota Made, I love the art of making an atmosphere with the store and vendor events, I love interacting with the plants and watching them turn into powerful medicinal for everyone.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
This is a benefit of living in Mankato, is this is a larger town yet not too large, and the resources available are awesome. I have been working with the Small Business Development Center, networking through my local small business districts and going to volunteering for different non-profit board in the community which has given me quite a few connections that have helped my business grow and find resources. I do quite a few vendor events throughout the warm seasons and holiday season which gives me ample time to get to know other small businesses that do vendor markets as well. Building relationships through small business is awesome because we share resources and markets!

I also help out with a local group called the River Valley Makers, which is a group dedicated to helping other entrepreneurs grow their business, mentor, and help them get connected with resources.

Pricing:

• $50.00 and below

Contact Info:

• Email: megan@lakotamadellc.com
• Website: www.lakotamade.com
• Instagram: LakotaMadeLLC
• Facebook: LakotaMadeLLC

Image Credits
Megan Schnitker