Beading as an Embodiment of Life: Understanding Indigenous Beadwork Through Felt Theory and an Indigenous Research Paradigm
Date
2023-03-16
Authors
McLean, Lauren
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This project examines the significance of Métis beadwork as an embodiment of cultural identity and resurgence. My methodology includes autoethnography and storytelling to situate myself in my research and connect findings in the literature to my own experiences. I am beading a pair of moccasin vamps (also known as tops or tongues) as a part of my research, using Tiffany Dione Prete's (2019) theory of beadwork as a research paradigm. Jeff Corntassel's theory of acts of everyday resurgence, Dian Million's (2009) felt theory, and aspects of storywork by Jo-ann Archibald (2008).
The findings of my research not only position Métis beadwork as a crucial factor in the resurgence of Métis culture and identity, but also as a way to understand knowledge transmission, resistance and resiliency, governance, and relationality.
My initial interest in the topic, motivated by my own curiosity around Métis material culture as a young reconnecting Métis person, quickly developed into something much more significant. What I found were the threads that can help stitch back together symbolic Métis material culture and Métis epistemologies, ontologies, methodologies, and pedagogies, which have been fractured by colonization.
Description
Keywords
Resilience, Knowledge Transmission, Beadwork, Resurgence, Métis