Dolores Gull remembers the elders in her community wearing ribbon skirts.
“I used to see my grandmother wear the skirt a long time ago, along with the other grandmothers in the communities,” said Gull, who lives in Timmins and is originally from Weenusk First Nation. “They would be outside cutting wood. They would be working on hides, cleaning or fixing them, just working around the house outside.”
Today (Jan. 4) marks the second annual National Ribbon Skirt Day in Canada.
“For me, it’s a ribbon skirt day every single day,” said Gull. “For me, wearing a ribbon skirt, it helps me feel connected to our Cree culture, to the land, I feel reminded of our grandmothers.”
The national day was first recognized in 2023. The push for its creation came after 10-year-old Isabella Kulak from Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan was shamed for wearing a ribbon skirt to her school’s formal dress day. Jan. 4 was her first day back to class after the incident.
Every time Gull puts on her ribbon skirt, it reminds her of her grandmother working outside in skirts in Weenusk, a remote fly-in community in Ontario's far north where Gull grew up.
Ribbon skirts and ribbon clothing have a long and varied history in Indigenous communities across North America and are a source of pride for many Indigenous people. Gull feels wrong when she’s not wearing them.
“I had to go run out the door, and it felt so weird not wearing my skirt. I felt I needed to rush home and put on my ribbon skirt,” she said.
She’s been wearing ribbon skirts every day since 2008.
“It’s my go-to when I’m starting my day,” she said.
When she started making ribbon skirts, it brought back many memories from her youth, community and culture.
“I feel so proud when I finish making a ribbon skirt. It makes me feel so happy to see what I did and to remember the home fire of our teepee, the natural laws, and our responsibilities,” she said. “This is just a beautiful reminder.”
The skirts hold a lot of meaning both for those who make them and those who wear them. The connection to home and the teepees is very important.”
“Whatever we put on our ribbon skirts, some of them are connected to our ceremony songs, some of them represent the animal skins, just whatever style we do, it’s connected,” she said. “The teepee is the most important part of our Cree culture.
The skirts have started many conversations for Gull when people ask why she’s wearing them.
“They ask, ‘What’s the occasion? What’s happening? Is there an event happening? Is there a powwow happening? And I say to them, you have to be ready for the best day of your life,” she said. “You just never know when something so amazing will happen, and whenever you wear a ribbon skirt, you attract good things in your life!”
