Cultural Reclamation Workshops with Hannah Vicaire

Listuguj’s Hannah Vicaire is the Community Engagement and Cultural Officer with the Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) in Ottawa. She has been involved with this organization since 2022, and travels to different communities in Canada with her colleague Tara Devlin. On their travels, they offer a number of cultural and traditional workshops such as ribbon skirt making and drum making. These workshops aid in preserving traditional knowledge and practices. Vicaire also offers free financial literacy and attends pow wows and conferences giving more insight on the LHF.

A little about the Legacy of Hope Foundation, from their website:

We are a national Indigenous charitable organization with the mandate to educate and create awareness and understanding about the Residential School System, Including the intergenerational impacts such as the removal of generations of Indigenous children from their families, including the Sixties Scoop, the post traumatic stress disorders that many First Nations, Inuit, and Metis continue to experience, all while trying to address racism, foster empathy and understanding and inspire action to improve the situations of Indigenous People today. The LHF supports the ongoing healing process of Residential School Survivors, and their families and seeks their input on projects that honour them. 

Vicaire became passionate about traditional crafts at a young age, and started sewing with her grandmother, Theresa Wilmot. When her grandmother passed away, she lost this passion, until a year or two later when she worked with the Listuguj Pow Wow Committee as a student worker.  It was then she realized she wanted to get back to pursuing cultural practices.

When it comes to Vicaire’s knowledge and craft, she said, “An elder from Toronto came to Ottawa and she showed me the basics of how to make a ribbon skirt, then after that I started to watch more videos and started to teach myself more stuff about it.” Since working with the LHF, Vicaire has dabbled in making ribbon skirts, medicine bags, drums, bracelets, keychains, moccasins, mittens, vests, and feather holders.

There is a significant importance of ribbon skirts and preserving traditions. Vicaire mentioned how much of a positive impact they can have, and how they allow connection and empowerment. Vicaire said, “Seeing that the skirts make a positive impact whether they’re buying it, or making it shows me how important they are. They create a space for non-indigenous people to be curious and ask questions, which lead to bigger conversations about Indigenous people.”

Vicaire plans on offering more workshops and travelling to different communities in the future. She continues to broaden her skills and revitalize traditions in her everyday life.

By Ann Marie Jacques