W.E.A.V.E. (Women’s Empowerment through Arts and Vital Enterprise) is a cross-border, Indigenous-led program of Tipey Joa Native Warriors that supports Indigenous women artisans from Kumeyaay and other Indigenous communities across Southern California and Baja California. The program’s goal is to strengthen women’s self-sufficiency, leadership, and cultural continuity by centering traditional arts as pathways for income generation, intergenerational mentorship, and community healing. Through community-led workshops, stipended instruction, land-based material gathering, and cross-border exchange, W.E.A.V.E. creates safe and supportive spaces where Indigenous women—many of whom rely on their crafts as a primary livelihood—can preserve ancestral knowledge, overcome economic and access barriers, and sustain their families while reinforcing cultural identity and stewardship of their ancestral lands.
Meet the Artisans!
Artisan Educator
Thelma Cañedo Castro
Artisan Educator
Teresa Haros
Ñap mil wuau shuwuilo nemy tay — I am from the Kiliwa community. My name is Teresa Haros. I am a traditional healer and artisan who has been creating traditional crafts since the age of 10 and practicing as a traditional healer since I was 18. I have extensive knowledge of native plants and traditional medicines, harvesting, drying, and preparing a variety of plants used for healing and wellness according to Kiliwa traditions. Through my work, I am dedicated to preserving and sharing our ancestral knowledge, traditional healing practices, and cultural arts so they can continue to be passed on to future generations. To contact me or see more of my work visit my page.
Rocio Villanueva
Artisan
Rocio Villanueva is a San Diego, California–based ceramic artist, multimedia artist, educator, and U.S. Army veteran whose practice explores memory, healing, cultural identity, and resilience through clay. Drawing inspiration from her Mexican heritage, Indigenous Mestiza roots, and the natural world, she creates sculptural ceramic works that honor ancestry, spirituality, and the enduring strength of women and community. Her work has been exhibited at the Oceanside Museum of Art, Civil Rights Institute of Southern California, Bonita Museum & Cultural Center, Boehm Gallery, and the Salmagundi Club of New York. To contact me or see more of my work visit my page.
Araceli Guevara
Artisan
Artisan Educator
Gloria Crosthwaite
Auka, I am a Kumeyaay artist from San José de la Zorra. I learned the art of traditional basket weaving from an early age, using natural materials such as juncus and pine needles that have been gathered and woven by Kumeyaay people for generations. With more than 10 years of basket-weaving experience, my baskets have been featured in exhibitions at San Diego City College, the Kosay Kumeyaay Market, and various Tribal government buildings, where they highlight the artistry and enduring cultural heritage of the Kumeyaay people. To contact me or see more of my work visit my page.
Ariana Arroyo
Artisan
Ariana Arroyo is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist currently residing on Maat Iipai Tipai, unceded Kumeyaay territory, San Diego, California. Her maternal lineage comes from the Mayo Yoreme people of Sinaloa and Buena Vista, Jalisco, while her paternal lineage comes from the Cochimí of Baja California as well as roots from Apatzingán, Michoacán. She was raised on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, spending most of her childhood in Ensenada, Mexico, before moving to Chula Vista at the age of eleven. Ariana's life journey reflects the experiences of many families whose identities have been shaped by the rich cultural exchange, layered histories, and enduring resilience of the Tijuana–San Diego borderlands. Working across painting, muralism, mixed media, and installation, her work weaves together collective memory of enduring relationships between people, place, and tradition through a Native/Chicana borderlands perspective. To contact me or see more of my work visit my page.
I am an artisan from the Pai-Pai-Kuahl Santa Catarina community. I am the National Advisor of the Kuahl people and speak two languages, Kuahl and Pai Pai. Daughter of the famous Pai Pai artist Teresa Castro who works with yucca fiber, making sandals and nets with it. I create pottery and pine needle baskets using traditional techniques that have been passed down through generations. I process clay from our ancestral lands by hand for community use as well as for cultural events and exhibitions. Through my work, I preserve my traditions of creating pieces that reflect our connection to the land, our culture, and our ancestors. To contact me or see more of my work visit my page.
Artisan
Adara Pinson
Auka, I am a Kumeyaay artist from the Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indians. I am a musician and jeweler. I make adornments from seashells that reflect the relationship between our ancestors and ocean. Through my art, I honor the ocean as a sacred pathway of memory, connection, and identity. I carry these memories with me when I wear my jewelry, and it gives me a sense of belonging. My roots are in the Kumeyaay coast, and Samoan islands. When I am making music, I feel empowered and reconnected. Music is a healing tool, music is medicine. To contact me or see more of my work visit my page.
Iliana Ramos
Artisan