Several years in the making, Greater Sudbury Police Service has officially adopted ribbon skirts into their No. 1 dress uniforms.
During a ceremony outside of Tom Davies Square on Monday, GSPS employee and dress designer Robin Wemigwans unveiled the dresses on models Const. Katrina Pitawanakwat and Const. Anik Dennie.
“When I started working for the police service, I wanted to showcase Indigenous females in a profession where there is very little to no recognition of them,” Wemigwans said.
“That was the biggest piece.”
Now, she said, Indigenous women can see themselves represented in the force, through the regalia officers wear during ceremonies and other special occasions.
It’s particularly important to see Indigenous-themed regalia in police uniforms, Indigenous Advisory Committee chair Joel Agowissa said, noting that colonial police forces had long deemed ceremonial practices and items illegal.
“The police force was in charge of arresting First Nations people who possessed these items,” he said, adding that this continued happening until the ’60s.
Ribbon skirts, Wemigwans explained, are “part of the traditional dress of what we would have worn pre-colonization.”
The GSPS ribbon skirts include red, silver and navy bands near their bottoms, which Wemigwans noted are the GSPS insignia colours.
A vertical stripe runs down their sides, with different colours representing the officer’s rank. For both Pitawanakwat and Dennie, the red represents their rank as constable.
As one of the first two officers to wear the skirt, Dennie told Sudbury.com it’s an honour.
“I’m so lucky to have people who have paved the way before me, that I can walk in and be able to wear this,” she said. “It’s amazing.”
Pitawanakwat said that ribbon skirts have been with her for her entire life, and that she’s very proud GSPS has incorporated them into its special regalia.
“We do walk in two worlds, so I just feel very accepted, very appreciated through the service to be able to express myself through my culture, and just being able to walk in the middle.”
“This is the biggest honour I’ve had, to be a part of this and to have my influence, and just being able to design that, that’s the real honour,” Wemigwans said. “That’s a very high, proud moment for me.”
The GSPS ribbon skirts will be worn during ceremonies and special occasions, and any Indigenous members will be automatically provided with them upon request.
Non-Indigenous members wanting to wear one will be required to show allyship and recognize the importance of the skirt, Wemigwans said, and “the pain and suffering that people have gone through.” Ribbon skirts are intended to be “very meaningful to each individual to wear it.”
In a social media post, GSPS noted that they join various other police services in adopting ribbon skirts into their No. 1 dress uniform options. Ontario Provincial Police Indigenous Bureau, Anishinabek Police Service, Treaty Three Police Service, Lakeshore Regional Police Service and the Blood Tribe Police Service have all done so as well.
The skirts, according to the GSPS statement, are to promote “healing, strength, pride, respect, and resiliency by reclaiming their culture and reminds us that there is more learning and work to be done.”
The unveiling helped kick off Police Week. The next event will be the reopening of the Sudbury Regional Police Museum, slated to take place from 5-7 p.m. on May 15, at 128 Larch St.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
