Project Description

I created these vamps to honour and encourage healing for those who are grieving a loss of a grandmother, mother, sister, daughter, friend, I used a floral trim to represent my Ojibway culture and to honour all the woen folk in my life, I am Anishinabe and part Dakota, raised Ojibway. I beaded a jingle dress dancer, the healing dance, she wears a blue dress to represent water, as Anishinabe Ikwe we take care and pray for the water, a giver of life, the dancer raises the eagle feather to honour Creator and all of life, I place Grandmother Moon there to honour our moon ceremonies and to honour our moon time, a gift to carry life, there are four roads beaded along the trim, green to represent our lives as babies, growing, the pink represents adolescence as young women, and all we learn there, the third path is our sacred red road, the ceremony road, life road, the good road, the fourth is our healing walk represented in yellow and we bask in the pure healing energy. All roads are not straight, it is easy to fall off, there are trails, tests, Creator is forgiving and loves us, we get back on track. In nature there is balance, our men are partners in the continuum of life, the man holds the drum up to honour Creator and all of life, and the drum stick in his other hand, he sings the healing songs. He wears green to honor the plant life the medicines that Creator gives us, I placed the Sun there because Anishinabe Inni takes care of the sacred fire, a giver of life, his paths are similar to the women’s roads, the blue represents a man’s adolescence. I used manidoomines, spirit seeds, (ojibway translation for beads) and manidoo-bangiwauaaniigin (Melton cloth), megis : shells to remember where we came from, , an elk tooth: for sustenance, ( ivory tooth to honor my bothers who are hunters) and copper jingles: zaangwewe-magooday, every bead and stitch is a prayer… Healing & blessings to you all…

by Jacqueline A. Daniels