Peaked cap workshops help Mi'kmaw women reclaim sense of cultural identity

One Mi'kmaw woman shares the knowledge of making peaked cap regaliain hopes other women will also sharetheempowerment she feels wearing one.

"It empowers you, to give you your identity back," said Karen Bernard, who isfrom We'koqma'q First Nation, 240 kilometres east of Halifax.

A peaked cap is a piece of Wabanaki regalia worn by women. The Mi'kmaw cap is distinct for its nation-specific motifs, like double curves.

Bernard said while in university she was asked to don a peaked cap for apresentationbut was too embarrassed to wear it. She said she kept the cap on her arm.

But in her journey to learn more about her culture, she discovered just how empowering wearing one can be, even reflectedin one'sposture.

"There's a pride to wearing it and how when you wear it, you actually elevate your head," said Bernard.

She learned from knowledge keepers and elders that the caps conveyed a woman's place in her community. Red meant that a young woman was coming of age, purple meant a woman was in her child-bearing years and black meant that the woman was a leader or distinguished in the community.

"I don't know what it was about donning that cap and my regalia now that made me feel completely more Mi'kmaw than I've ever felt in my life," said Bernard.

A peaked cap can take up to 60 hours to complete, depending on how intricate the beadwork is. Bernard's workshops happen in a series of four eight-hour workshops and participants are encouraged to do some work on their own.

Bernard's next workshops will take place in We'koqma'q at the cultural centre, for Wagmatcook and We'koqma'q community members.

Workshops for MMIWG families

Catherine Martin, who is a Mi'kmawknowledge keeper from Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia, said peaked caps have seen a resurgence in the last 10 years or so, as regalia was once banned by colonial law. Martin saidpeaked caps were used to markmilestones in a woman's life.

"When you became a woman, there was a ceremony and you received that from your relatives or someone who is very close to that," said Martin.

She said the peaked caps would also have designs of one's clan and family.

Martin works with Women of First Light,a non-profit group led by Indigenous women from Wabanaki territory that aims to heal communities by returning to cultural traditions.

Martin saidthey heard from families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in their communities that connecting with their cultural identity was an ongoing issueso theyhired Bernard to facilitate peaked cap workshopsover the past four years in Halifax, Millbrook, Sipnekne'katik, We'koqma'q and Membertou First Nations.

"I believe that identity is one of the issues within our communities that we have to work on," said Martin.

"We want to strengthen our young women."

Ishbel Munro, co-ordinator of Women of First Light, said those peaked caps were documented in a series of photographs and drawings of them were rendered into a colouring book.

The colouring books were then delivered to local schools.