Ribbon Skirt Day leader reflects on changes since her cultural attire was shamed

By Dayne Patterson In Isabella Kulak’s home is a box of about a few hundred letters, notes and hand-drawn pictures of ribbon skirts sent to her from across Canada and beyond — fan mail from those who consider her story and the origins of “Ribbon Skirt Day” as inspirational. “I have like a whole notebook of letters, a whole stack of drawings from all these schools and it makes me feel so happy and it warms my heart,” said Isabella, a shy 15-year-old, on a phone call from her home in Kamsack, Sask., located about 270 kilometres east of Regina. “I do want to eventually write back to them, but I am really busy with school.” After all, the Anishinaabe girl is still a teenager. This past week, she had…

Add Your Voice

Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Contribute your voice on our contribute page.