About Dakota Bear

Dakota Bear is a Nehiyaw (Cree) hip-hop artist, entrepreneur, speaker and youth mentor from Treaty 6. He was born and raised in inner-city Saskatoon and is now based in Vancouver. He builds platforms that amplify Indigenous voices, and he brings that message straight to the people instead of waiting for permission to be heard.

In 2020, Dakota and his wife Casey Desjarlais started Decolonial Clothing Co. with $500 and a silk screen on their kitchen table. As Chief Marketing Officer, he has grown it into an Indigenous-owned brand with more than $2.5 million in revenue. It has a full-time team, a flagship store in Vancouver and customers around the world. The brand won The Pitch in 2021 and was named Clothing Line of the Year at the 2023 International Indigenous Awards.

His community work runs just as deep. Dakota has mentored more than 100 Indigenous youth into business ownership and entrepreneurship. He has spoken in more than 30 classrooms across the country, and he co-founded the Turtle Island Festival and Indigenous Peoples Day LA. With Casey, he leads Rooted & Rising, a full-day keynote, workshop and performance for schools and communities. He also created The Invisible Backpack, a training program that helps educators support Indigenous students.

Through it all, the music remains. As an independent artist with Land Back Records, Dakota has earned more than 4 million streams across Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, with sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Vancouver and performances in remote First Nations communities. His work has also reached international audiences, including a workshop in Japan. Grounded in sobriety and ceremony, and mentored by Idle No More co-founder Sylvia McAdam, he uses his music to heal, unite and push for Indigenous justice.

Featured in: SOCAN Magazine · Daily Hive