'A really powerful day': Commemorating National Ribbon Skirt Day in Winnipeg

Dozens of people wore ribbon skirts at CF Polo Park mall to honour National Ribbon Skirt Day on Jan. 4, 2025. (Dan Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg)

Dozens donned colourful fabrics and patterns Saturday in honour of the third-annual National Ribbon Skirt Day celebrated across the country.

In Winnipeg, Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people wore their ribbon skirts with pride in the centre court at CF Polo Park – with each woven thread putting their culture and resilience on display.

“Today was a really powerful day,” said Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, an advocate and one of the event organizers. “It was about healing, it was about reclaiming, it was about connecting, nurturing our spirits, filling each other with love and kindness.

“Most of all, hope; hope that change is coming,” she added.

Ribbon Skirt Day honours Isabel Kulak – a member of the Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan. In 2020, when Kulak was in Grade 5, she wore a ribbon skirt to school and was told it wasn’t formal enough to meet the dress code. Kulak's story sparked a global movement and inspired the enactment of the National Ribbon Skirt Day Act by the federal government.

“The ribbon skirt is a powerful symbol for many different things,” said Anderson-Pyrz, adding that it can be seen as a shield of honour and protection.

“As an Indigenous woman, wearing a ribbon skirt is an act of resistance,” said Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine. “It's actually a means of our liberation as Indigenous women, to take up space and to wear our ribbon skirts in every space that we find ourselves.”

To mark the occasion, community members of all ages took part in a round dance in the centre court.

“It's really important because First Nation people, Anishinaabe people, we never had spaces where we can be ourselves. We had to hide who we are,” said drummer Kyle Copenace. “So it really means a lot to be able to be in a space like this and be proud of who we are.”

Anderson-Pyrz also emphasized the role men and boys play in Ribbon Skirt Day, particularly in uplifting the voices of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people, along with ending gender-based violence.

“When we're looking at our Indigenous men, we call on them to reclaim their warrior roles as well, and become the protectors of Indigenous women, girls and honour the safe spaces that we deserve,” she said.

When it comes to the future of the commemorative day, Anderson-Pyrz said she hopes to see it flourish even more.

“What I would really like to see is the movement continue, not only today, but every day,” she said. “When we look at Justice Sinclair and what he said, you know, reconciliation is not a spectator sport, it has to be action oriented.

“There has to be commitment in order to see change.”