By Meghan Power
“I first started dancing when I was 14 years old. I remember the first time I was Pow Wow Princess, and I had to borrow a dress from my Auntie Verna Steinhauer. As I did more Pow Wows, my dad’s side of the family (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) started coming into circle and making connections with their culture and community. My father and my grandfather were always there helping me along on my journey. I started to see the importance of being connected to my culture and our traditions.” Through walking the Red Road and passing along Cree culture to her children and the next generations to come, Katie has been working to break these cycles of intergenerational trauma.
“Teaching my daughters to sew became a time when they both started asking me questions about how I learned to sew and make regalia and about my parents and my grandparents—if they had known how to make regalia. One day, while we were all working together, one of them said, ‘I hope that other families have the opportunity to make regalia like we do.’ It made me think about the importance of passing on our cultural traditions to families who, like mine, have been impacted by intergenerational trauma and have not had the opportunities to learn our traditions themselves or to be able to pass them down to their children.”
It was then that Katie knew that she wanted to give back to her community and share her knowledge by teaching the art of regalia making. “Reciprocity is a big part of my culture. For example, traditionally, the first regalia dress you make is given away to someone. Part of my work as an artisan is to honour that tradition of reciprocity. I always make sure to give away skirts and dresses to families and community members I know might need them or may not be able to make them or afford them.”
Being able to access funds to support offering this workshop was essential for Katie. “I appreciated that the application was easily accessible. This was my first time applying and the Calgary Arts Development team made me feel supported through the process. The funding through CADA’s Indigenous Microgrant program made it possible for me to cover the costs of the materials. The goal was to create an intergenerational experience. It’s important that our traditions and traditional ways of making are being shared. Many of the adults attending may not have had an opportunity to learn themselves.”
Katie received an overwhelmingly positive response to the workshop. Within minutes of opening registration, it was filled. “I posted the workshop on Facebook and it was shared over 400 times. “I had a lot of people from different First Nation communities, throughout Alberta, across the country, and into the US inviting me to come and teach. In total, I worked with 16 families. I am humbled as a Cree woman living in Blackfoot Territory for this opportunity to give back to my community.”