A month-long ribbon skirt installation, called Sacred Strength, returns for its second year with the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, taking place in downtown Huntsville.
The free-of-charge exhibit runs until Sept. 30 which is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
“The exhibit is truly an expression of reconciliation,” said Joyce Jonathan Crone, who played a key role in facilitating the ribbon skirt creations.
Crone is the founder and president of Hope Arises Project, an Indigenous-led non-profit based in Huntsville, which focuses on celebrating Indigenous culture, building community connections, and providing education for positive change.
The ribbon skirt is cultural clothing, traditionally made and worn by Indigenous women and girls. These skirts are often made from colourful fabric and decorated with bright ribbons which are stitched on into intricate patterns or designs that hold symbolic significance.
“It’s a very profound, spiritual, healing experience for people to come and take time – not just to look at the skirts – but to read the girls’ stories and see the work they put in,” Crone said.
This project started when Crone visited 20 students from Huron Heights Secondary School in Kitchener, on Haudenosaunee Territory, for an opening circle to discuss with them the importance and sacredness of ribbon skirts.
The students would be tasked with the honour of creating ribbon skirts over a one-month period.
“It became something very profound. The girls spoke of their experience and each wrote about their experience and what it meant to them,” Crone said.
Some students had no experience with sewing, but they poured their creativity and craft into them.
“There really was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears,” Crone said. “I know it took a lot for them. It was very personal for each of the 20 girls. The girls – I would say – breathed life into these skirts.”
Crone said this installation has been showcased in other places and now it’s time for Huntsville and surrounding communities to see the skirts, learn the stories, and experience the “profound emotion” the installation will inspire, she said.
“I had this vision of having women in our community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, come together as really, an expression of reconciliation,” Crone said.
Her vision for the future is to share the Sacred Strength exhibit with more people, showcasing the beautiful ribbon skirt creations and powerful stories in galleries throughout Canada.
You can find more information about this project at hopearises.ca and the installation at huntsvillefestival.ca.
