‘Ribbon Skirts Every Day’: The Importance And Power Behind The Indigenous Garment
etcanada.comAlyssia Sutherland was 14 years old when she was first introduced to ribbon skirts. Her mother had just moved her kids about a two-hour drive south, from Peguis First Nation to Winnipeg, and she was feeling lost. “It was a culture shock because a lot of people were teasing me because they said I have an accent.
And I was like, “Okay, so is it bad to be Indigenous?” Sutherland told Global News. “Eventually, I found an organization called Ka Ni Kanichihk and started going to their programs … that was the first time I (designed) my own ribbon skirt.
It made me proud of who I was.” Since then, ribbon skirts began playing a bigger role in Sutherland’s life. In 2018, she sewed her first one with help from her mother-in-law. “She asked, ‘Ally, do you have a skirt for ceremonies?’ and I said no.
And she’s like, ‘Well, let’s make you one then.'” Ribbon skirts are a centuries-old Indigenous tradition historically reserved for ceremonies, and they can mean different things to different people and communities.
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