Noah Oughton

My name is Noah Oughton. I was born January 27^th, 2007, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My parents are Bianca Carrière and Jason Oughton. My mom is from St. Laurent, MB and my dad is from Stonewall, MB. I have deep roots in the small town where I live in St. Laurent where my mom grew up as this is where I was raised. I live here with my parents and my two sisters. I am bilingual in French and English and attend École communautaire Aurèle-Lemoine which is a francophone school that highly values and highlights the culture of the Métis community in St. Laurent. I come from a close-knit family and am a proud Métis who is thankful that I am able live my culture daily. 

I have learned valuable skills by working alongside my pépère Audie Carrière. He is a commercial fisherman on Lake Manitoba, and an avid outdoorsman. Since I was a baby, we would go out on the lake together where he taught me to harvest fish, berries, asparagus, nuts, and other foods that would allow me to live off the land. In the spring and fall we would also often go for wood together to stack for the winter months. This is where I found my interest in the art of woodwork. I started to cut, sand and varnish logs for my family to use as furniture or end tables. It wasn’t long until others would notice them and ask where they might get one. This is when I decided to start a small business doing something that interested me and kept me working hard, while enjoying the outdoors.

I’ve had a lot of support and encouragement from my family and community and for that I am very grateful. Creating unique and individual pieces while running my own small business has been both a challenge and a pleasure. I look forward to continuing to gain knowledge from my family and community while working hard in the future.