Acknowledgements
And the people and programs that have made “The Ribbon Skirt Project” a reality.
Anoosh niiya tiipahikay moon miyotootow lii pleu vyeu li paassii meena lii prayzaan.
Today, I pay respects to the Elders, past and present.
I want to thank the First Nations on whos land the Métis in British Columbia have found home and Community.
Nishtoohtamihk niiyanaan kaayash ka kii tootamihk li tarayn Quw’utsun. I would like to Acknowledge the Quw’utsun (Cowichan tribes) on whos traditional land the Cowichan Valley Metis Community Operates, and all the First Nations who so graciously allow us space, inclusion and kinship on their lands and at their tables.
Nordic Flowers Ribbons Skirt, Indigenous Nouveau, 2020.
This project could not have been realized without the support and acknowledgment
of my community.
I would like to thank Métis Nation British Columbia for their ongoing support, encouragement and dedication to providing funding for essential arts and culture projects that reinforce our land-based practies, identities and sovereignty.
This project was funded with the help of the Nakaatchihtow Arts and Culture Project Grant.
A special thanks to Carly Nabess, a dear friend and coordinator at the Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Language at MNBC, who has worked tirelessly to facilitate this and other projects from Indigenous Nouveau.
Many hands make light work.
I would like to make a special thank you to Cowichan Valley Métis Nation, CVMN, my home community on Vancouver Island, and my Mother and Father, Marlena and Holger Heitland, for being a constant source of support, knowledge and hands-on involvement in the work that I am doing.
Thank you to my elder Bruce Dumont, for your constant encouragement and for your guidance and help with the Michif Language, continuing my cultural education.
Mrs. Louis Lepine, Metis., [ca. 1880s], (CU1107556) by Unknown. Courtesy of Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.
I would also like to thank the University of Calgary and the Glenbow Archives for the exhaustive work involved in creating digital archives of photos of rural and historical life in Canada.
Providing this resource allows us all to enjoy and appreciate the history of our country. Giving back the names and faces of our ancestors is an honourable thing, and allowing us to access this resource has brought a much clearer understanding of the Métis, and ourselves, in a historical context.