WONIYA THIBEAULT

My name is Woniya Thibeault, and I am the woman behind Buckskin Revolution.

A love for the natural world has always been a part of me, as has a drive to make things with my own two hands, and a longing for earlier times and more land-based lifestyles. Discovering a community of people who practiced and taught ancestral skills when I was 19 opened up my world and inspired me to devote myself to these skills. I have been studying, practicing and teaching them since the mid 1990s. 

With both a Masters degree in Environmental Science and a hands on education in ancestral skills, I strive to combine knowledge of and love for the natural world with the physical skills of our human ancestors.

I have spent a lot time living off grid and incorporating wild foods and handmade goods into my daily life. I had a powerful test of my skills when I was selected as a participant for Season 6 of Alone on the History channel, where I spent 73 days living by myself in the arctic, hunting, gathering and trapping. The skills that allowed me to stay so long were not however, just the physical ones, but the mental, emotional and spiritual skills of long-term survival practices for connection, gratitude, curiosity, communication, positivity and reciprocity.

I teach a wide range of topics, but I call my business Buckskin Revolution not only because I love making, wearing, and teaching about brain tanned buckskin, but because of what it represents.

It is a reminder, a link to our human past. We can all trace our lineage back to ancestors who wore buckskin, or something very similar. It speaks to that place inside us that remembers what it feels like to know the world around us intimately, to shape the substance of our lives from the raw materials around us.  It reminds us what it is to be human and connected to the wild within and around us.

The Buckskin Revolution is not just making buckskin clothing, or harvesting wild foods or survival skills, it is about inspiring and enabling people to do more for themselves and to be freer, healthier, wilder, more connected human beings.

CLARE MEANS

Clare Means’ latest album, Sidewalk Astronomy, is a cohesive patchwork of musings on life in Los Angeles, love, forgiveness, and the recent loss of her estranged father.  Sidewalk Astronomy debuted at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter charts and #66 (right below Kanye’s recent album) on the iTunes All Genres Chart. As Clare says, “Most of the songs on Sidewalk Astronomy were written over the course of a couple years and were sparked by a variety of moments in my life… the day I found out my father was sick, when I fell in love, when I knew my relationship was doomed, when I got my heart broken, the day my father died, and when I woke up from a strange dream about sheep.”  Clare’s quirky take on life is fresh and comforting at the same time. 

Part of what makes Clare stand out as a performer is the unconventional path she has taken. Always a hustler, Clare has made a name for herself as one of LA’s most popular, hardest working street performers. She’s built a dedicated following by being one of the very few performers to perform almost exclusively original music. While most depend on covers to stop foot traffic, Clare learned to work on her songwriting craft and challenged herself to capture audiences using her own songs.  Clare’s street performances are musical experiments in which she interacts with the colorful and chaotic scene of the environment.

In September of 2015 Clare began live streaming her daily performances on Periscope. She is now one of Periscope’s most watched musicians and has made it onto the Periscope trending list multiple times and has over 100,000 followers on the app. Clare has independently sold thousands of copies of her albums through her live streaming, street performances and while playing shows at various venues across Los Angeles and touring the US, Canada and Europe.

Clare has also been featured in many popular online blogs and magazines including Billboard, No Depression, PopMatters, American Songwriter Magazine, Buzzbands,LA,  Yay LA! and Digital Music News.  Also, you may have read about her and her live streaming success in the two top selling books How To Make It In The New Music Business: Practical Tips On Building a Loyal Following and Making a Living As A Musician, Editions 1 and 2.