Tsotawe is a bead artist from Akwesasne. She studied art at SUNY and at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, NM. Her studies there were primarily in jewelry making and traditional pottery. However, one day she walked into a bead store in Santa Fe and knew that this was the direction she wanted to go in. Although she was able to attend a few classes at the store, she was primarily self taught after that. She has shown her work and won ribbons at various juried shows including the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Heard Museum show, the Eiteljorg Museum show, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. Upon returning to Akwesasne, her goal was to learn raised beadwork, a bead style with techniques that the Rotinonhsón:ni people are known for. She has spent the last two years on learning the craft and building expertise so that she may not only sell her work, but also teach and help pass the knowledge on to the next generations.