Decolonizing the Museum to Reclaim and Revitalize the Anishinaabe Strap Dress

Abstract

Rigorous comparative analysis of strap dress ensembles exposes the colonial violence caused by cultural attributions based on a false assumption that dress styles and Indigenous polities are directly correlated. Three periods of strap dress styles defined based on fifteen years of research into materials and techniques inform skills repatriation for Indigenous artists and decolonization directions for museum research. Results validate models for ensembles true to those worn by Anishinaabe grandmothers for use in workshops by collaborators Neil Oppendike and Siobhan Marks. Broad regional northern and southern dress styles are identified, and the Mapping Anishinaabe Regalia project is introduced.