These Indigenous artists want to break down gender barriers with their craft | CBC News
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Two N.W.T. artists are looking to break out of the gender roles traditionally associated with their crafts of choice — parkas for Dustin Qaiyan Smith and drums for Cynthia Pavlochich.
Qaiyan Smith’s purple parkas stand out against Inuvik’s snowy landscape.
The 24-year-old Inuvialuk and Inupiaq artist comes from a long line of seamstresses.
“My great grandmothers were seamstresses. My grandmothers were seamstresses. My mom’s a seamstress and I am one too,” he said. “I’m able to carry on the culture and carry it on to the next generation, and it’s something that I really enjoy doing.”
Qaiyan Smith started sewing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Originally it was my mom’s sealskin parka that inspired me because I wanted to have a matching piece with my mother,” he said. From there, he wanted to try and recreate his grandmother’s “parkies.”
Pavlovich also traces her love for the drum back to the pandemic.
As a member of the Teetł’it Gwich’in in Fort McPherson, N.W.T., she was raised in Mayo, Yukon, in a “strong matriarchal community.”
Going beyond gender
Today, Pavlovich offers workshops on various traditional crafts, including drum-making through Collège Nordique and Aurora College.
“In the old traditional ways, it was the men who were supposed to drum and the women had other ceremonial items,” she said.
She made her first drum out of bear skin, which went against tradition in itself, she said.
“Where I grew up, interacting with bears for women is kind of taboo. We weren’t allowed to eat them and stuff like that … And I kind of thought, you know, if I’m going to blow out all the norms, I might as well do it big, right?”
Qaiyan Smith also leans into moving away from gender norms, by sewing and wearing parkas more so styled after those traditionally made for women. They feature a long, pointed hood designed to carry babies, and a larger circular fur trim meant to look like a sun.
“I kind of wanted to start blurring the lines of gender roles between men’s parkies and women’s parkies,” he said.
“I always say as long as you feel comfortable wearing it, you can wear it.”
So far, Qaiyan Smith said he’s gotten a lot of positive reactions to his work, with most people recognizing that he’s trying to keep the culture alive.
“Even if we’re trying to revitalize all traditions, well, if we don’t modernize something, then it’s more than likely going to be forgotten about.”
