The staff at Indigenous Boutique & Space in Cherokee, N.C. are shown, left to right: Aurora Martinez, Radiance Ramirez, Jade Blankenship, Jensen Peone, Idalis “Dali” Crowe, and Brooke Lossiah. (BROOKLYN BROWN BIGMEAT/One Feather photos)
By BROOKLYN BROWN BIGMEAT
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C.—Sisters Jade Blankenship and Jenson Peone, both members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation with Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) heritage, founded Indigenous Boutique & Spa in Cherokee, N.C., in 2020, but the story is further rooted.
“The roots of the business started in like 2015. I was 21 years old. I was fresh out of beauty school and broke…I started servicing girls with a Sally Hanson wax pot. All these Natives from the Spokane Indian Reservation, which is where I grew up, would drive an hour to get their makeup done and their eyebrows waxed. They just supported me.” Peone shared.
“I moved here that same year in 2015 to Cherokee knowing nobody and moved into my mom’s house, then into an apartment up Soco. That was at the height of social media influence, so I was using that to my advantage, posting pictures of what I could do, making posts, and all of a sudden people were coming to my apartment.”
Peone’s clients followed her to a new home in Tsisqwohi (Birdtown). “In 2019, my home got broken into so I was going to leave, and then Jade and Cory [Blankenship] were like, ‘Can you have dinner with us?’ And I didn’t expect them to pitch a business plan. They opened up their laptop and they had written an entire business plan for the Sequoyah Fund…We started Indigenous in 2020. We won Native Women Business Owners of the Year [from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED)] in 2023.”
Inside the store at Indigenous Boutique & Spa in Cherokee, N.C.
Blankenship, who has a bachelor of applied science in accounting from Western Carolina University (WCU), worked with her husband, Cory, on the business plan that would launch what is now an award-winning business. “We just basically wrote out: this is what our vision is, these are the steps. These are the products we want to carry. This is the aesthetic that we want to have, which in hindsight sounds ludicrous because at that point, that was literally right after or even during COVID when you couldn’t get your hair done, you couldn’t get your nails done. I didn’t know if we were going to get the loan and it was a $50,000 loan, and we got it. I now sit on the Sequoyah Fund board. And so that was a seven-year loan that we paid off before five years of business.”
Blankenship and Peone said their business is centered on their faith and incorporates their culture. “We wanted to provide a place where people could feel welcome regardless of what you look like, regardless of what you feel, regardless of anything. We are rooted in our identities as Christ followers. We wanted to basically bless our hands to then bless others,” Blankenship said.
Their business logo incorporates an Indigenous flower design and part of a Bible verse, Psalm 90:17, which reads, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands.”
Indigenous currently has six employees, including Peone and Blankenship, licensed estheticians; Aurora Martinez; Brooke Lossiah; Radiance Ramirez, massage therapist; and Idalis Crowe, licensed esthetician.
“I think our goals in the future would be to fill these treatment rooms with girls with the same dream and the same vision and the same hope to have a job and then grow within them,” Peone said.
Blankenship added, “There’s so many benefits of being in this industry. You can make your own schedule; you can hustle as hard as you want to hustle. You can learn a skill set that is really valuable…my prayer for Indigenous is let it grow as much as God will allow it to grow and we will figure out how to navigate that.”
For the sisters, running a family business is a family tradition. “When I would come here as a kid and I would be in my grandpa’s shop, those were some big core memories seeing him over at F.B.I. Traders. It didn’t really dawn on me until we opened that first day, my grandpa [Richard Teesatuskie] and my uncle Reuben [Teesatuskie] owned a shop together and now we’re going to own a little shop as sisters.”
Idalis “Dali” Crowe, a member of the EBCI, is the newest employee at Indigenous, building a large clientele over just two weeks. “It’s really exciting. I’m really glad to be able to do what I went to school for and give back to the community here…I saw that they were hiring and I just thought it would be a great fit for me, being Indigenous, and I used to come here and get serviced by Jensen. And it’s just a nice atmosphere.”
Aurora Martinez, a member of the EBCI from Widagalinidisgv (Big Y), started working at Indigenous in February of 2025. “What initially drew me to Indigenous was the opportunity to be part of something that celebrates our culture, represents our people, and creates a welcoming space for the community. What I enjoy most is getting to interact with different people, build connections with clients, and be part of a team that makes people feel comfortable and appreciated. I also enjoy knowing that I’m part of a business that represents something bigger than just the services we provide.”
Martinez added, “Indigenous is more than just a boutique and spa. It’s a space that celebrates Indigenous representation, supports our people, and creates an environment where everyone can feel welcomed. I’m grateful to be a part of that and to contribute, even in my role at the front desk, by helping create a positive first impression and making everyone who walks through our doors feel welcome. I hope our community continues to support and recognize what Indigenous represents.”
Brooke Lossiah, a member of the EBCI from Widagalinidisgv (Big Y) who also works at the front desk, will celebrate two years at Indigenous in January. “I just enjoy helping people. I am very passionate about helping our Native people, empowering them, especially our Native women here. So, any kind of encouragement I can do for them to come and try to take care of themselves physically, mentally, I think that’s very important and I feel like we need more of that in the community.”
Radiance Ramirez, Northern Cheyenne from San Jose, Calif., has been the massage therapist at Indigenous for about a year and a half. “I’ve always loved the atmosphere of spas. I remember the first time I visited one, I felt so relaxed and at peace. I want to create an atmosphere and share that with the people here of Cherokee to promote relaxation and wellness.”
Ramirez said she wants to provide healing for her clients. “We’re here to get to know the person. We want to work with them. Especially with my practice with massage, I want to continue seeing someone, maybe even make a wellness plan for them to keep coming back to help them with their healing journey. Because I see people who are going to PT, who are getting back to fitness, and to combine that with massage, especially, too, if they’re dealing with anything with the body, just trying to help them get to where they need to be comfortable in their bodies.”
Blankenship wants to encourage Native youth to pursue their dreams in business. “All Glory to God. We’re thankful for our community. We’re so thankful for every single person that comes in here. We want to encourage other people within our community to take the leap of faith and try and go after whatever your business dreams are because it’s possible. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. And anyone that’s interested in going into a line of aesthetics or cosmetics or anything, we have a home and we welcome you into that.”
Peone added, “I think the number one thing is don’t let fear stop you, because fear and laziness will stop you from pursuing your dreams and create stagnancy. So continuously be uncomfortable. If you’re comfortable, you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do. Never be comfortable. Always, always be hungry and uncomfortable, and that’s how you become successful.”
