Darrell Chocolate brings Northern Art to the International Indigenous Tourism Conference

By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – Northwest Territories–born artist Darrell Chocolate is traveling south as a vendor to showcase northern Indigenous art at the International Indigenous Tourism Conference, taking place February 17 – 19, 2026, at the Edmonton Convention Centre in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton), Alberta.

Chocolate is among artists and entrepreneurs journeying from across Indigenous territories to participate in what is recognized as the largest Indigenous tourism conference in the world, bringing together Indigenous leaders, creators, businesses, and international delegates to celebrate culture, innovation, and sustainable tourism.

Held on Treaty 6 Territory, the three-day conference features panels, workshops, keynote speakers, cultural programming, and a large vendor marketplace designed to elevate Indigenous-owned businesses and artists from across Turtle Island and beyond.

For Chocolate, attending as a vendor is an opportunity to bring northern perspectives, stories, and visual traditions to a global audience.

“My mission is to help bring humility and gratefulness for what we have in our lives,” Chocolate says.

Drawing from personal experiences, he explains that both hardship and joy have shaped his worldview and artistic purpose. He believes emotional struggles can deepen character and resilience, while joyful moments reinforce gratitude for family, community, and the natural world.

“Feeling defeated or let down brings new meaning to character,” he says. “It teaches you how to lift yourself up in your lowest moments and to keep going forward.”

Chocolate credits his wife and children, parents, siblings, close friends, and late grandparents for grounding him, along with the teachings of respecting the land and animals. “To give respect to the land and the animals that are on this earth is part of who I am,” he says.

His art practice focuses primarily on wildlife and human portraiture, often created through commission work that honours loved ones and ancestors. “My art business does mostly wildlife and human portraits,” he says. “With human portraits, I get requests from people who want portraits of their grandparents, their parents, their loved ones.”

As a northern artist, Chocolate says authenticity is central to his work and what may set him apart. “Maybe it’s the realism in my wildlife and portrait paintings,” he says. “I try to make it as authentic as I can – whether it’s an eagle, the eyes, the details, everything.”

Chocolate has been sketching and drawing since the age of six and began pursuing painting professionally in 2009. He says attending the conference is also about representation. “It’s time to help represent the Northwest Territories,” he says. “That’s where I’m from.”

By traveling from the North to Edmonton, Chocolate hopes to shine a spotlight on northern Indigenous artists and strengthen connections between art, tourism, and cultural storytelling on an international stage.

He remains open to commissions and encourages those interested in his work to connect with him through his website and social media platforms.

As the International Indigenous Tourism Conference approaches, Chocolate’s presence as a vendor underscores the growing role of Indigenous artists as cultural ambassadors—bridging northern art, lived experience, and global audiences.

Check out his art out on his socials at darrellchocolatefineart.com