"I Like to Create"

I first met Bonnie Masuskapoe when she was a guest presenter at a Heritage Saskatchewan and Museums Association of Saskatchewan workshop at Wanuskewin last year. She did a beading demonstration for and was interviewed about the tradition. I was impressed by her obvious artistic talent and also by the thoughtfulness of her interview answers.

Born and raised on Ahtahkakoop First Nation, Bonnie grew up going to powwows and round dances, which is where she first recalls seeing traditional beadwork adorning the regalia of the dancers. She learned how to do beadwork from her mother, and sometimes in school, but it wasn't until she was an adult that she started to seriously create. After immersive culturel experiences in Africa and on Manitoulin Island in Ontario with World Youth Canada, Bonnie began to appreciate her own Cree culture more. Upon returning to Saskatchewan, she started to learn how to make traditional objects like moccasins. She also started to experiment with her own style and with using traitional designs on contemporary items.

Bonnie has tried her hand at many different art forms, and shares her expertise in workshops at Wanuskewin where participants can learn how to make things like moose hide mittens. Bonnie is particularly proud of the dolls she made for her nieces. Composed of felt, the dolls are designed to look like traditional Cree girls, with braided hair and beaded regalia. Bonnie explained that growing up, the kinds of dolls she played with were Barbies. She wanted her nieces to have a doll that looked like them. She recalls the joy of one of her nieces upon receiving the doll: "it made me cry."

Bonnie's work, as well as that of her peers, is a powerful indication of the strength and reslience of First Nations culture. As she explains in her interview, in the recent past making traditional cultural art like beadwork was illegal. Now, a new generation of indigenous people are continuing these traditions on, but adapting them to contemporary life. For Bonnie, creating traditional crafts is a meaningful expression of her Cree heritage. Beadwork designs often contain stories that are particular to a people and a place. Bonnie is creating her own story through her work - one which includes stories of the past.