Our Grandmothers Dress - commonly known as a strap dress

Our Grandmothers Dress - commonly known as a strap dress At one time, millions of Woodland women wore a version of this dress, but only a handful of them existed in museums. Boozhoo! Menominii Zaaga’iganiing n’donjiba.

Our dresses survived 3 historical eras before almost disappearing. Our goal is to return it to our women and strengthen our communities. Zeegwun Noodinese nindizhinikaaz, Migizi n’dodeym. Odaawaa Zaaga’iganiing Ojibwe Anishinaabekwe n’dow. Niizho Mideo. Greetings, my name is Siobhan Marks, I'm Eagle Clan, and a lineal descendant of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (LCO) from

my mother’s side. I also have French, Irish, English, and Lithuanian ancestry. My maternal grandmothers were born in Rice Lake, LCO, and Flambeau; my mother and I were born in Chippewa Falls. I am a second-degree Midewiwin. Our traditional dress says something historically significant and defining about who we are as Anishinaabekwe. Assimilation has kept us from knowing who we are as a people and cultural borrowing has distorted how we see ourselves. This is the original dress of our Woodland Grandmothers - it wasn't brought to us; it's an ingenious design that's been with us long before those ships first landed. As we are reminded by the Grand Chief of the Three Fires, Midewiwin Lodge, Bawdwaywidun Banaise ba, “We did not come from someplace else.” Nor did Our Grandmothers’ Dress. It is ours.

06/04/2026

The most daunting of all of the Grandmothers Dresses I've made. We brought this beauty to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum).

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August 4–7, 2026 in M’Chigeeng, Ontario — a gathering open to all kwewag, centered on the roles, responsibilities, and t...
05/07/2026

August 4–7, 2026 in M’Chigeeng, Ontario — a gathering open to all kwewag, centered on the roles, responsibilities, and teachings of Woodland women through storytelling, creation, and community. Featuring Grandmothers Dress teachings, appliqué skirt making, handpoked tattoos, and more. Chi-miigwech to Kiana Kiana, beautiful carrier of our dress teachings, for creating this space. Registration opens May 21, 2026 at 10AM through Woodland Fashion. Join the email list for updates: https://form.jotform.com/261264841403048
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So loving all of the inspiration and excitement over our dress in so many places! Honestly, it's been overwhelming to se...
04/09/2026

So loving all of the inspiration and excitement over our dress in so many places! Honestly, it's been overwhelming to see how Our Grandmothers Dress has been loved and welcomed back! For those of you who gave asemaa, have the teachings, and know the story of our dress... you'll understand how special these sleeves are. Enyanh' onizhishin!

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