About Us
How it all began
Feeling isolated as the only business from an underserved community or the only Indigenous vendor at events inspired Lluvia Merello, owner of Indigenous Come Up, to take action. She envisioned a space where artists and entrepreneurs from Indigenous and Black communities could feel welcome, supported, and able to express their creativity and cultural heritage freely. Rooted in her own experiences — from selling at various local markets and powwows as an Indigenous Peruvian with Andean and Inca heritage — Merello knew firsthand how challenging and sometimes discouraging it could be to belong to a group underrepresented in the mainstream market scene. Out of this determination, she founded the Portland Indigenous Marketplace in 2018. What began with pop-up events in parking lots, free of charge to vendors, quickly grew into a vibrant nonprofit organization focused on providing barrier-free, culturally respectful opportunities for artists and entrepreneurs to thrive and connect with the community.
Our Story
Over the Years
2018
Founded
Indigenous Come Up contracts with PBOT (Portland Bureau of Transportation) to host 3 Native Markets at the Last Thursday events on Alberta St
2018
First Black Friday
Indigenous Come Up partners with the Rockwood center for the first Black Friday Indigenous Marketplace
2019
Wide Spread Marketplaces
Indigenous Come Up partners with Great Spirit Church as a fiscal sponsor for Oregon Metro’s Community Placemaking Grant for a series of events called the Portland Indigenous Marketplace.
2020
Becoming a non-profit
2020-2021
Covid-19
Portland Indigenous Marketplace becomes a 501(c)3 non profit
Portland Indigenous Marketplace maintains all planned marketplace dates with Virtual Indigenous Marketplace events that are “Live Streamed” on Facebook
2022
Expansion and Move
Portland Indigenous Marketplace continues to grow and moves to a new location in the Native Arts and Culture Foundation Center in November 2022
2023
Community Partnerships
2024
Forever Home
2025
737 SE Sandy Blvd
Portland Indigenous Marketplace host 25 days of events in over 6 zip codes (including Fairview, OR). Serving over 150 vendors. Over 5 partners.
Portland Indigenous Marketplace is donated a building by an anonymous donor. Hosting over 63 Marketplace days (including Gresham, Oregon City, OR). Serving close to 200 Artists.
Portland Indigenous Marketplace is committed to renovating 737 SE Sandy Blvd the end of the of the Native Sandy Trail. PIM hosts over 26 days of marketplace events a 3 major fundraising events.
Our Mission
Portland Indigenous Marketplace supports Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs by providing barrier-free, culturally respectful spaces that encourage cultural resilience and economic sustainability by promoting public education through cultural arts.
As an organization made of and serving primarily local artists that create handmade and original designs, though this organization may not serve a particular art form, this Indigenous community is very connected with the Native American artist community in the Portland Metropolitan Area and beyond. Portland Indigenous Marketplace is proud to serve artists through the Indigenous Marketplace programming with heritage from tribal members from all over North American including Dine (Navajo) tribes, Warm Springs, Lakota, Klamath as well as Indigenous global communities such as Mexica, Haitian, Fulani, Quechua and so on.
Portland Indigenous Marketplace is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful space – both in person and online. Our community standards are rooted in our values of respect, equity, equality and cultural integrity. These guidelines prohibit hate speech, harassment, discrimination and any behavior that threatens the safety of our community.
We have launched an exciting new project at 737 SE Sandy Blvd, transforming an abandoned warehouse into a vibrant cultural center supporting Indigenous and Black artists and entrepreneurs. This new home aims to offer barrier-free, culturally respectful spaces for artists to thrive, host events, facilitate workshops, and strengthen community ties through arts and entrepreneurship, with fundraising underway to help renovate the building and realize its vision as a lasting community hub.
The Portland Indigenous Marketplace as a unique organization made up of and serving artists and entrepreneurs that can truly play an important role in supporting the arts and the local economy. See you soon!
Our Leadership
Portland Indigenous Marketplace has been 100% women led since day one. The Board of Directors, Staff and the Vendor Policy Committee are all women to this day.
Board of Directors
Portland Indigenous Marketplace
Board of Directors are as follows:
President- Lluvia Merello
Vice President- Amanda Squimphin-Yazzie
Secretary- Amanda Stubits
Treasurer- Judith Pacheco-Lujano
At Large- Jessica Rojas
Staff
Executive Director- Lluvia Merello
Lluvia@indigenousmarketplace.org
Vendor Policy Committee
PIM partners with more than 200 Artists. The Vendor Policy Committee is responsible for addressing vendor policy complaints as needed and processing new vendor applications.
The Vendor Policy Committee members are as follows:
LaDonna Dempsey
Lupe Rodriguez
Mildred Braxton
Natalie Mitchell
Roberta Eaglehorse-Ortiz