10 | NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY
culture
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BEADING IS NOT JUST FOR THE LOOKS OR THE DESIGN BUT IT HAS A SPIRITUAL COMPONENT TO IT TOO. PEOPLE ARE TOLD IN CEREMONY TO MAKE THOSE SPIRITUAL ITEMS AND TO DECORATE WITH BEADS.
Beauty of beading
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– Cheryl Bird, cultural support Sagkeeng Health Centre
BY JENNIFER MCFEE
porcupine quills to beads. Still today, beading is considered one of the highest honours to wear,” she said. “It’s becoming very popular with girls. They’re wearing beaded earrings and pins. They’re starting to put it on graduation caps, hats, running bands. I’ve even seen a woman wearing a pair of beaded high heels.” Beyond the beauty of brightly coloured beads, the significance aligns with the spiritual side of life. “Beading is not just for the looks or the design but it has a spiritual component to it too. People are told in ceremony to make those spiritual items and to decorate with beads. They’re even told what colours to use,” she said. “Usually the floral beadwork and the designs on your medicine bag are actually dictating which medicines you can carry. Sometimes people are told what to bead on their moccasins when they dance.” Now Bird strives to share the joy of beading with others, particularly while families are staying close to home. To provide an activity for people to focus on during the pandemic, Bird launched the Sagkeeng Beading Project. She’s been creating and giving away beading kits that include everything needed to start a beginner or intermediate beading project.
“I’ve been making 15 to 20 kits a day. I can’t even keep up with the demand. I’ve been taking requests from Sagkeeng band members, both on and off reserve. I’ll keep going as long as the supplies hold up,” she said. “With everybody being at home, I really felt that I wanted to give something for my community to do. It’s been such a hit with everybody.” The kits include hide for the backing, as well as other items needed to complete the project. “A lot of the young people like designs like Nike or Adidas or Chanel, so I take those designs and staple the paper on pellon, which is a flexi-firm fabric that’s almost like really thick fleece,” she said. “Then I’ll roll up a bunch of nylon thread and stick two needles in there, in case they lose one. I’ll add about five colours of beads in little packages. I have another piece of material to lay down on the table so the beads and needles don’t roll away.” Bird has also been posting short tutorials to help guide the process. When participants post a photo of their progress, she enters their names into a prize draw. “There’s a teaching that when you’re beading, you’re not supposed to try to make it perfect. It’s also a reflection of ourselves that we’re not all perfect,” she said. “Even the best beaders are supposed to put
MEMBERS OF THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY ARE DRAWING ON CREATIVITY AND GENEROSITY TO BRIGHTEN THE LIVES OF OTHERS DURING THIS PANDEMIC PERIOD. For Cheryl Bird, who provides cultural support through Sagkeeng Health Centre, the past few months have been bustling with a renewed interest in traditional art forms. “One of the activities I do is porcupine quilling. It’s a traditional art form that I’m trying to bring back. We take the porcupine quills and then we flat sew them or wrap them around deer hide,” she said. “I learned that long ago our people had medicine quilling societies that you had to be initiated in. It was actually a responsibility of women. The porcupine quilling was considered the very best. If you were wearing it, you were highly honoured or a leader.” Over time, porcupine quilling gave way to new forms of creative expression. “When Europeans came and beads were introduced, things transitioned over from
Designs can be attached to flexi-firm pellon; Cheryl Bird prepares beading kits (PHOTO BY SHARON COURCHENE); colourful beading projects are underway; quilling is another traditional art form.
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