Key takeaways:
- In New Brunswick’s Fort Folly First Nation, a regalia lending library provides cultural apparel to anyone in need while also teaching people how to make their own.
- Nukumi House, a family resource center, will provide a ribbon skirt or shirt to anyone in need for as long as they need it.
A regalia lending library in New Brunswick’s Fort Folly First Nation provides cultural apparel to anyone who needs it while also teaching people how to make their own.
Women may be required to wear ribbon skirts at events such as ancestor ceremonies or sweat lodges. Nicole Porter, the project manager, said she frequently lends out her extra skirts. She recognized a need for regalia in the Mi’kmaw community approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Moncton, and the regalia library now lends ribbon shirts and skirts.
Porter, who works like that, the cultural coordinator for Mi’gmaq Child and Family Services, explained, “It’s making them feel welcome as well as able to come and take part in cultural activities that I hold.”
Anyone in necessity can request a ribbon skirt or shirt from Nukumi House, a family resource center, for as long as needed. Then they can return, exchange, or create a new one.
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Porter can help anyone who wants to start a new one.
“Seeing their faces light up when they get to wear it is the most rewarding part of making these skirts for others,” Porter said.
Laura Lymburner, her cousin, was one of the people she assisted in making a skirt. Lymburner admitted that she didn’t know how to stitch when she first started, but with Porter’s help, she created her first ribbon skirt.
“I’m really happy that I can wear my creation to ceremonies,” Lymburner said.
“It made my eyes well up with tears.”
She stated there had been a resurgence of cultural interest in her community in recent years. She is proud that her children will have access to regalia whenever they want it.
Making her ribbon skirt, according to Lymburner, “really helped provide me with a sense of my role as a woman in my group, that we are sacred, that we are powerful, and also it’s tying the culture back; to me.”
Reducing, reusing, and recycling, according to Porter, are also important aspects of the project. She believes that reducing waste is an important part of honoring Mother Earth, so she tries to discover creative ways to use leftover materials, such as making child-sized ribbon skirts. They have a bin full of small fabric scraps used in quilting and other crafts.
Porter is trying to increase the library’s inventory, including three finished skirts and seven ribbon shirts.
In the end, all she wants to see are people who are proud of their heritage.
“It teaches the next generation to be proud of who they are and proud to be L’nu,” Porter said.
Source: Global News
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