4 years in the making: re-creation of Wolastoqey regalia revealed at open house

The New Brunswick College of Craft and Design unveiled a re-creation of traditional Wolastoqey regalia, a project that was four years in the making.

The piece, which features an array of ornate beading, was completed with the help of several artists, said Charles Gaffney, who oversees the aboriginal visual arts program at the college, as well as several other courses. 

"The hope today is to share with the broader community a little bit more about traditional Wolastoqey adornment, what we used to wear," he said.

Gaffney, who is from Tobique First Nation, added that he wanted to highlight what the Wolastoqey wore versus what western First Nations communities wore.

"You see a lot of western influences at our pow-wows, and I want to get us back to… what did the Wolastoqey look like, how are they separate from the Mi'kmaq?," he said.

Trudy Gallagher, marketing and recruitment coordinator for the college, said the college's focus is on the traditions of First Nations peoples on the east coast, since so much of Canada's understanding of indigenous culture is based on tribes in the west. 

"So much of Canada tends to focus on west coast culture, totem poles and dream catchers, things that have no basis and didn't have any origin on the east coast," she said.

"So we really want to focus on the first nation peoples who were here and what they actually did and what was their livelihood." 

College opens its doors to the public 

The unveiling took place during an open house Saturday which gave the public and potential a students a chance to explore the campus and get a taste of life as an artist. 

The school usually holds two open houses a year, but this was the first time it also offered free workshops, said Gallagher.

The idea was to show people that art and design are accessible, and something that they could do themselves, she said.

"That way, you feel like, 'Oh maybe I could do this, maybe I could be comfortable here," she said, adding that registration for the workshops filled up quickly.

The college offers programs in ceramics, aboriginal visual arts, digital media, fashion design, graphic design, jewellery/metal arts, photography, and textile design.

Year after year, the fashion design program has been the most popular, with graphic design coming in second, Gallagher said.

The digital media program has been expanding as well, and now features 3D design and game and app development.

"It's very very important to keep up with technology and what's happening so we can give students a choice, she said.