Today is National Ribbon Skirt Day, an opportunity to recognizes and honour the ribbon skirt as a symbol of Indigenous women, identity, ceremony, and tradition.

First observed last year, National Ribbon Skirt Day was created after 10-year-old Isabella Kulak, a member of Cote First Nation, shared her experience facing shame for wearing a handmade ribbon skirt to a formal day in 2020 at her elementary school.

Isabella's story serves as a reminder that we still have to overcome racism and inequity for Indigenous People and it emphasizes our need to have a collective effort to be inclusive. National Ribbon Skirt Day is a step towards this.

Today, we witness women, girls, and gender-diverse people proudly wearing ribbon skirts to many different occasions.

In my capacity as Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan, I proudly wore a ribbon skirt to the swearing-in ceremony of our Lieutenant Governor and when meeting the Governor General. Our staff regularly wear ribbon skirts to important events, gatherings, ceremonies, and celebrations. For me, the ribbon skirt represents formal wear, a celebration of resilience, culture, and identity.

On this National Ribbon Skirt Day, take time to learn more about the ribbon skirt and about its connection to the earth and sacred medicines, and its role in ceremony.

I look forward to working together as a provincial community to reach a place where Indigenous people do not have to be afraid of discrimination and look forward to wearing clothing that celebrates resilience, culture, and identity.

Learn more National Ribbon Skirt Day Act