Cheekbone Beauty and Cree artist Kent Monkman have joined forces for a collaboration that fuses Indigenous art with cosmetics.

Launching on Saturday to coincide with National Indigenous Peoples Day, the Powwow Kit is a four-piece collection of Cheekbone’s best-selling products housed in collector’s edition packaging featuring Monkman’s acrylic work “Giants Walked the Earth.”

Cheekbone developed the kit’s design concept in house and collaborated with Simpson Print on the dieline. Jenn Goodrich of the Denver Art Museum applied the artwork to the packaging. Magic Hour worked on PR for the rollout.

Jennifer Harper, co-founder and CEO of Cheekbone, tells strategy that the timely June 21 rollout is an expansion of the company’s commitment to highlighting Indigenous perspectives and voices through yearly collaborations.

“This day is a time to honour the strength, beauty and diversity of Indigenous cultures across Turtle Island,” Harper says. “By launching on June 21, we’re not only celebrating Indigenous excellence and beauty – we’re actively contributing to it.”

Harper says working with Monkman further amplifies Cheekbone’s brand message of visibility, empowerment and education.

Monkman’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. His art often features a cosmic, gender-fluid alter ego: Miss Chief Eagle Testickle.

“Monkman’s art challenges colonial narratives and reclaims Indigenous identity through bold, unapologetic storytelling,” Harper says of the Officer of the Order of Canada and Governor General Award recipient. “By featuring his iconic work on our packaging, we bring that same energy into the beauty world – where representation has long been limited or stereotyped.”

Founded in 2016, Cheekbone was born out of Harper’s vision to create an Indigenous-owned and founded company after researching her roots and learning more about her grandmother’s experiences in the residential-school system. The registered B Corp is headquartered in St. Catharines, Ont., with a staff of six and has set out on a mission to foster representation and visibility of diverse cultures in the beauty space through its sustainable, vegan and cruelty free products.

As the company approaches its 10-year anniversary, Harper has ambitions to take Cheekbone’s business beyond the loyal customer base it’s built in Canada and the U.S.

“We’re proud of the journey from a small, purpose-driven idea to a nationally recognized Indigenous-owned brand,” Harper says. “Looking ahead, our goal is to grow Cheekbone into a global brand that leads with Indigenous knowledge, champions environmental innovation, and uplifts Indigenous voices at every level … We’re proud of what we’ve built—and even more excited for what’s next.”

The Powwow Kit includes Cheekbone’s Mattifying Moon Dust setting powder, the Horizon lip pencil, Healing lip oil and Uprise Mascara and will be available Saturday online at the company’s website.

In 2022, Cheekbone launched an intentionally unusable, toxic lip gloss as part of its “Glossed Over” social campaign highlighting clean-water access issues. And in 2021, Cheekbone collaborated with Indigenous poet-creator Zoey Roy for a Sid Lee created film for the “Right The Story” campaign, which set out to correct historical inaccuracies and address cultural biases.