Attendees watch a video where Brenda Mercer speaks on her experience building her first teepee last year.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
After the success of creating her first teepee, White Horse Rider Co owner Brenda Mercer is looking to task the community with making many more.
In a kickoff event at the Medicine Hat Public Library on Wednesday evening, Mercer alongside fellow organizer Davie James spoke to gathered residents and dignitaries on the story of creating her first teepee last year, as well as plans for the funds given to her by a grant from Indigenous Youth Roots.
Elder Charlie Fox spoke on the significance of the teepee, noting that the planned tepees are a lot larger than those made “back in the day.”
He says the teepee attested to the resilience of the culture and the people who used them, and many could benefit from learning about the beauty of said culture and these practices.
“What Brenda is doing today to introduce the teepee is a great project that can attract people to come here in such a beautiful way,” said Fox.
Starting Wednesday, the work begins, though James says they are still seeking a space where they can sew seven large teepees out of canvas in the days to come.
“Davie and I are of the mind that you just plan, think positive and great things will happen,” said Mercer. “So we haven’t landed in a place yet, and that’s our big thing is that we want to have a place where we can put our two upholstery sewing machines that we can leave for a month and a half to maybe even two months. That’s the biggest task. Worst case, I’ll be sewing all seven teepees in my basement.”
While the project at its base is planned for Indigenous youth aged 16-29, Mercer hopes to get all manner of people from throughout the community involved, be that in sewing, painting, harvesting or merely coming by to visit and learn.
“If you want to come and learn how to bead, I would be happy to show you how to bead. If you want to come and ask questions about our culture, come and ask questions. If you just want to come and watch, we encourage that,” said Mercer. “The flip side is that I might be asking, ‘Well, where did you come from?’ Because I think it goes both ways when we hold space for one another.”
Creating the first teepee, said James, took a large portion of their social network, many of the Esplanade staff and community involvement, and he anticipates creating seven more will likewise require the collective passion of the Medicine Hat region, and they will take anyone interested in participating.
“We just want to be able to share this journey with you guys,” said James. “There’s going to be days where we’re harvesting teepee poles, there’s going to be days where we’re sewing, there could be days where we’re painting. This is going to take a lot of organization. We’re just really excited to share this journey with everyone.”
Anyone interested is encouraged to reach out to Mercer and James to get involved, and to follow White Horse Rider Co. on social media for updates.
