Indigenous Entrepreneur Shares Alutiiq Culture & Love of Cat Toys through Catnip Connections
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News Story by Matthew Kincanon
Catnip Connections may be a new company, but for Freddie Katelnikoff the beadwork they make stems from childhood and their company’s crafts allow them to share their Alutiiq heritage with everyone.
The Alutiiq are one of eight Alaska Native peoples.
“When I was nine and younger, my mom would do these intricate peyote stitch pieces, and I would bead along with her as long as I can remember. She would get me started and I would do the easy parts of beading,” Katelnikoff said.
Carrying On The Culture
Katelnikoff reconnected with beadwork and other cultural practices through the Alutiiq Museum and other resources, such as culture camps, that allowed them to not only learn about their culture but be able to teach it to others too.
“It’s important to me to carry on my people and practices with beadwork and with naniq carving, just occupying space and letting other Alutiiq/Indigenous people know that there is a space for us,” Katelnikoff said.
Katelnikoff works with their business and life partner Melissa Kinney, and together they make Catnip Connections.
How It All Began
When they started the business, Kinney said the two were already dating and living together for a few years, and they began with handmade cat toys they crafted for their friends’ pets, which were well received.
Kinney said they then made some more for their own cats and started getting more attention when they posted about them online. Soon, the company evolved.
“We started to make more cat toy designs, scored a gig at a local business hosting a vendor day, set up with our cat toys and some other items we had been asked to sell, and it all grew from there,” Kinney said.
Kinney started designing stickers as well, while Katelnikoff got back into beading, learning about jewelry making, carving and skin sewing. All of which became a core part of their business together.
“Catnip Connections”
“Freddie came up with the name Catnip Connections, and I designed our logo,” Kinney said.
They make a variety of cat toys including ones that look like salmon, Goldfish Crackers, items from the “Animal Crossing” video game series, dinosaurs, images from “Gravity Falls” cartoon series, witches hats and other things.
Katelnikoff was always scared to put themselves out there, but making cat toys was a way to do that and learn how to do Etsy and other aspects of running a business. They credit Kinney with being their greatest support.
“I really wouldn’t be here without her, and we both are very driven to keep each other going through anything and everything,” Katelnikoff said. “Melissa is really my greatest support and the same way back, I wouldn’t be where I am without Melissa pushing me to reconnect.”
Keeping Traditions Alive
For Kinney, their company provides her with an outlet for her creativity and she gets to make whatever she wants and try to incorporate it into their business. She also found the networking aspect of their business to be rewarding in meeting other artists and business owners.
During the times she attended Native Markets with Katelnikoff as their assistant, Kinney had the opportunity to learn a lot about Indigenous culture.
Though Kinney isn’t Indigenous herself, what she’s learned so far about indigenous cultures is that she will never know enough, and the best thing she can do is to keep her eyes and ears open.
“Every tribe, every people, every language and every place has so much history and significance that I’m still only beginning to understand,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot more about the issues that Indigenous peoples still face in our country, important details about racism today that were unfortunately omitted from my education, as these things often are.”
Kinney added that she has a lot of respect for everyone fighting to keep their traditions alive, or to reconnect with practices and histories that colonizers tore away from them.
“It’s not an easy fight by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a meaningful one,” she said.
Katelnikoff wants people to know that her people are still here and their language is still alive and there are lots of resources for anyone wanting to learn at AlutiiqMuseum.org for anyone wanting to learn.
Where to Find Them
Both owners take others’ safety seriously, so they fill their cat toys with 100% catnip and don’t add polyfill due to it being a health risk. Also, their bandanas are button-clasp so pets can get them off if they need to.
Their cat toys, stickers and other products can be found on their website. They’ll also have a booth at the Main Street Market July 8 in Ritzville and the 36th Seafair Indian Days Powwow on July 14 in Seattle.
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