Indigenous students to walk graduation stage in handmade ribbon skirts, shirts

Indigenous students at Edmonton's Archbishop O'Leary High School are preparing for grad by creating ribbon skirts and shirts.

About 200 Indigenous high school students are preparing to walk across the stage in a fashion that celebrates both their achievement and culture.

For several weeks, students part of Edmonton Catholic School Division’s Braided Journeys program, which supports Indigenous students, have been putting the finishing touches on custom ribbon skirts and shirts.

Ribbon skirts meld the techniques, materials and patterns of European and Indigenous garment design, and can be worn as clothing or regalia, according to the B.C.-based educator The Ribbon Skirt Project. Among their many meanings are personal reclamation and cultural protection.

“The skirt, to me, just means a lot of strength, a lot of power, taking back what was taken from us before, just resonating with my ancestors, my grandmothers and all the females that have led me to where I am today,” said one Archbishop O’Leary Catholic High School student, Akasha Cardinal.

“Our ancestors never really got the education that they deserved or the freedom that they deserved, so I feel it’s very important … that we get to walk the stage and honour ancestors that couldn’t.”

Her classmate Camrin Strand added, “My ribbon shirt really just represents this period of my life, how I feel, how I reflect, how I think of myself, and ultimately, where I want to be. So it’s a lot of calm, it’s a lot of symbolism for patience, and … who I am as a Métis student.”

On the back of his shirt, he sewed on the shapes of a bear, deer and moose, an homage to time spent with his family in nature and hunting.

“Being able to represent myself in such a prominent way with what I’m wearing is a very big part of an Indigenous or First Nations identity,” he told CTV News Edmonton.

The students will wear their ribbon skirts and shirts on May 14 in an Indigenized graduation ceremony called an honouring ceremony.

“When I grew up, I didn’t really have that culture. I was scared to show it,” another graduating student, Ryan Boucher, said. “Walking that stage together, it means a lot because it’s like a family.”

The students all said the sewing process taught them patience, especially trickier parts like collars, sleeves, and small pieces.

The materials were sourced from Indigenous businesses, in part with a $5,000 grant from the Edmonton Community Foundation’s Youth VOICE grant.

Valedictorian Hayley Johnson, who wrote the application, said she felt it was important for her and her peers to be able to express their Indigenous identity at graduation.

“Writing this grant was honestly really easy. It came completely from the heart,” she told CTV News Edmonton.

“As educators, that’s really important for us: When a student comes to us and says, ‘This is really important,’ we listen,” said the program’s graduation coach Kailey Davey.

The school division has held an honouring ceremony since 2002.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum