Carrie Moran McCleary is a fashion designer, artist, and Little Shell Chippewa Tribal member who lives on the Crow Reservation in Montana. In 2016, after years of designing clothes and accessories for her family, Moran McCleary founded her small business Plains Soul to share her unique style and artistry with a wider audience.
Moran McCleary is known for upcycling and Indigenizing everyday items. As the tenth of eleven children, upcycling was a way of life in her family growing up. She learned to bead and sew from her mother, discovering at a young age how to customize thrift-store finds and hand me downs, transforming them into works of art and expressions of her identity.
Through her beaded jewelry, clothing, and accessories she brings together contemporary styles and traditional designs. Moran McCleary says, “My designs are very Ojibwe, but, after spending 30 years in the Apsáalooke (Crow) community who I’m honored to call family, I’m often influenced by their colors and aesthetics as well.”
She has participated in Montana Fashion Week, Native Fashion in the City, and Honor Our Legacy Fashion Show. She co-produced and participated in the Apsáalooke Community Market Native Days Fashion Show, Yellowstone National Park Tribal Marketplace Fashion Show, and Crow Fair 101 Fashion Show. She was also scheduled to show her designs at the C.M. Russell Western Art Week Fashion Show in March 2020.
Her work has been exhibited in Apsáalooke Women and Warriors at the Field Museum, Chicago, IL, The Brinton 101 at The Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY, and When Culture Meets Fashion at the Western Heritage Center, Billings MT. She has also showcased her work at several juried shows including the Montana Folk Festival in Butte, MT, Tribal Marketplace in Yellowstone National Park, and the Canterbury Indian Market in Shakopee, MN. As a member of the B. Yellowtail Collective, her Fierce One Doll Collection can be found on the B. Yellowtail website.