NEW! Art of Indigenous Beadwork – Metis Crafting & Heritage

Join us for a new workshop teaching the rich art of Indigenous Beadwork! Metis Artisan Kathy Morgan will lead you in creating a stunning beaded medallion while she shares the rich cultural history and heritage of the Metis, a uniquely Canadian Indigenous People. Students can choose from three designs, a poppy, a spring flower, or a strawberry, that can be worn as a hair clip or pin. You will learn basic beading techniques and leave with an in-progress medallion. Kathy will demonstrate how to finish your medallion and provide written instructions to guide you in completing your project at home.

A Material Fee of $20 to be paid to instructor at the time of the course for a beading kit. The kit includes a hard felt piece in the pattern of your choice, beads, a leather medallion, thread, a needle, wax and a pin or clip fastener. Students will have use of the instructors’ scissors for the duration of the course.

Kathy Morgan is a proud member of the Metis Nation of Ontario. Kathy is a member of All our Relations in the Spirit of Reconciliation Drumming Circle. She is a leather worker, does traditional beadwork, is an avid traveler and is always seeking information on her family and heritage.

Kathy can trace her roots to the Red River Settlement in 1806 (present day Winnipeg), where her great grandparents Jean Baptiste Lajimodiere (a voyageur, buffalo hunter and fur trader) and Marie Anne Gaboury raised a family of eight children. Kathy descends from their youngest son Joseph Lajimodiere.

As a Child Kathy was taught to be proud of her culture and heritage, however, she was also told to keep them a secret to the outside world. As an adult Kathy has found her voice and has embraced without shame her family’s contributions to building this great country.