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Learning how to bead created a strong connection to Mi'kmaq culture that Alex Antle says she had never felt before.
“With every bead and every stitch, I feel connected to my ancestors, my heritage, and my culture,” says the L'nu (Mi'kmaw) woman living in the Bay of Islands on Newfoundland's West Coast.
Antle believes many Mi'kmaq traditions, including beadwork, have been lost due to colonialism over the past centuries. Luckily, she says, "we are living in a time of cultural revitalization where Mi'kmaq people are proud to practice and show off the culture."
Beadwork, explains Antle, is often used to decorate clothing and accessories. Mi'kmaq people originally used porcupine quills, animal fur, and hair to decorate their clothing.
After European contact, seed beads became a major trading item, marking the beginning of a new traditional art form, says Beverly Julian, a Mi'kmaw beadwork artist in Millbrook.
The Mi'kmaq people began using the same stitching techniques as before, but incorporated beads as well, says Antle.
The style seems fairly consistent across all of Mi'kma'ki, says Antle. "Traditional styles of beadwork include a lot of symbols and motifs such as the double curve, symbolizing togetherness, which can be seen in old beadwork from all the Atlantic provinces," she says. "Other Indigenous groups likely have varying methods."
CELEBRATING HERITAGE
Antle began learning beadwork three years ago while she was in university and away from her family.
“I felt very disconnected from my family and was looking for a way to connect to home and connect to Mi'kmaq culture,” says Antle.
This started her on the path of learning how to make beaded fringe earrings by reading beading books and watching online tutorial videos.
From there, she moved to Corner Brook, N.L. where she studied under Nicole Travers, learning many different styles of beadwork, including applique.
That opened a whole new world of beading for Antle.
"With applique beading, you can make any shape, any design, you have complete creative freedom. This led me to creating larger beaded art pieces," she says.
Antle started participating in gallery exhibitions after being approached by Mi'kmaw curator Emily Critch, who invited her to participate in an exhibition titled mitsujuk | kussikuashu | kpitni'sewet | they sew.
Since this first exhibition, Antle has participated in five other exhibitions, an art festival, and has been a virtual artist in residency. She now displays and sells her beaded artwork through her website, which focuses on wearable art, beaded jewelry, and accessories.
Though her work uses traditional beading techniques, Antle says she strays away from traditional designs.
"I create my own modern designs to construct contemporary Mi'kmaq artwork," she explains.
“When I am beading, I feel connected to my ancestors. I am using the same stitch that they used thousands of years ago."
Beading, she says, lifts her up. She's also learned to only work on her beading when she can put positive energy into her creations.
“I have been told that beadwork carries energy, so if you bead while you're feeling negative, that energy is transferred into your beadwork and then transferred into whoever wears the beadwork,” she says.
PASSING ON KNOWLEDGE
Like Antle, Julian learned traditional beadwork as a teenager. In her case, she learned the art from her mother.
Although there are standard beading methods, Julian has incorporated her own style and designs into her work, which she now both displays and sells.
Julian is a recognized artist and has taught art and Mi'kmaq culture in both Canada and the U.S.A. She operates the organization Sweetgrass Arts Centre to provide accurate information on Mi'kmaq people and issues to teachers, students, professionals, and businesses. The website also includes photographs of historical beadwork regalia.
“I truly enjoy making my traditional regalia pieces as it reminds me of how important it is to keep this tradition alive,” says Julian.
Judy Dugay is another proud Mi'kmaw woman, now living in the Wellington area of P.E.I. Her mother was a Mi'kmaw from Lennox Island, P.E.I. and her father was a non-native.
After 20 years of living in Ontario, the family returned to P.E.I., where Dugay says she got to know more about her Mi'kmaq culture. It was then that she learned the traditional arts of woodworking and basket making, even teaching a few classes on making baskets at the Native Council in P.E.I.
“It's just a hobby to keep me busy, but I enjoy doing it,” she says.
A few months ago, Dugay wanted to do more to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. That prompted her to learn how to make red dress earrings from beads, so she taught herself.
It took over a week before she got it right, she says, but when she did, she put shared them on Facebook and they sold like crazy.
Although she doesn't currently teach beadwork, she says it's a possibility in the future when she becomes better at it. It requires a lot of patience, she adds.
“I feel so overwhelmed and peaceful when I'm working with beads,” says Dugay. “I think of my mother and grandmother.”
Now, Dugay is passing down the traditional ways of making baskets to her granddaughters, Caitlin and Payton. This generational learning is important, says Antle.
“Because we have lost much of our history, we know how important it is to practice our traditions and pass them down throughout generations,” she says.
SHOWING SUPPORT
It's completely fine for non-Indigenous people to wear beaded accessories or own beaded art, says Antle.
Julian agrees, but cautions people to be mindful that it is not a costume, but rather they are sometimes ceremonial pieces.
Antle also encourages everyone to be vigilant when purchasing to ensure it's authentic Indigenous-made beadwork created by Indigenous makers.
Purchasing beadwork is a great way to support Indigenous artists, she adds.