Garments that symbolize strength, pride, and identity
Since 2023, National Ribbon Skirt Day has been held every January 4 in honour of Isabella Kulak, ribbon skirts, and Indigenous identity and culture. In 2022, 10-year-old Kulak, from Cote First Nation, faced criticism for wearing a ribbon skirt to a formal school day when a staff member criticized the skirt as not formal enough.
After Isabella spoke up and shared her story, a wave of support for her and her ribbon skirt spread across Canada. The response was so strong that Manitoba Senator Mary Jane McCallum introduced a bill to observe January 4 as Ribbon Skirt Day, which passed into law December 2022.
Ribbon Skirt Day encourages Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people across Canada to wear their traditional regalia to honor their culture and showcase the strength, pride, and identity that these garments symbolize.
Ribbon skirts
The ribbon skirt is a hand-made, traditional garment that includes rows of colourful ribbons that are sewn along the bottom. They are worn at ceremonial events, powwows, and increasingly, as everyday wear. The skirts emerged through many cross-cultural exchanges, resulting in a wide range of interpretations and styles.
The history of the ribbon skirt is complex and diverse, with origins dating back to the 1800s and the broad-cloth skirts that European women brought with them to North America. Indigenous women began adding vibrant silk ribbons and intricate embroidery, adapting the skirts as a way to express their pride in their cultural identity.
Each skirt carries symbolic meaning and is deeply personal to the wearer, and each community has their own stories, meanings, and protocols surrounding them. A ribbon skirt can be worn simply as an everyday piece of clothing or as a part of regalia used only for Sweat Lodges and ceremonies.
Regardless of how they are used, creating and wearing ribbon skirts is about reviving an important cultural practice for many Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people across Canada, and Ribbon Skirt Day serves as a powerful celebration of their culture and resilience.
Learn more about Ribbon Skirt Day: