CRAFTER FINDS CONNECTION TO CULTURE IN ART

Brittany Meriah’s creativity is helping her connect to her culture.

Her journey in beading, sewing, and creating has brought her closer to her Indigenous roots. Her family is from Alderville First Nation in southern Ontario and she grew up in Port Hope.

“I feel like I’m crafting and creating for those who were unable to,” she says.

Her journey began while she attended Trent University in 2016 and grew as she attended a moccasin-making class at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Those first lessons in patterns sent her down a path to beadwork.

“I simply looked at a pattern and figured it out,” she says.

That ability has served her well as she expanded her repertoire into making ribbon skirts and doing quill work.

Ribbon skirts have become something that helps her feel a connection to the women in her life in her work when making them.

“It represents the teepee, the house of the family, and the woman is the pillar of that structure,” she says. “It was also a way to set oneself apart through colours and patterns represented on the skirts.”

That connection also comes through the community for her and the teachings she’s been offered.

“In 2018, I had a quick, five-minute teaching on quillwork from an elder, Sandra Moore,” says Meriah. “I ran with that for my quill work.”

Learning traditional skills has had an impact on Meriah’s outlook.

“I’ve become more detail-oriented and high-quality driven,” she says. 

After opening Brittany’s Beaded Dream online in 2017 and working as a vendor at powwows all over the province, she’s always looking for new opportunities to learn.

“I take a lot of inspiration from other beaders online,” she says. “I love seeing their designs and colour schemes.”

Now based in Temiskaming Shores with her young family, she says she’s already seen her work's effect on her family and their connection to Ojibwe culture through her.

“My son is four and already asking to be taught beadwork and leatherwork,” she says.

Teaching and learning are part of the journey for her and her vision of the future.

“I'm excited to better my skills and pass my knowledge onto my children,” she says.

Amanda Rabski-McColl, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TimminsToday.com

2024-01-22T16:46:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd