When Langley City Council normally gets together in the CKF Room, it is to hold a meeting, but last night we got to do something a little different. The Waceya Métis Society offered to hold a hands-on mitten-making workshop for Council. Of course, we accepted. Each member of Council sat beside a member of the Waceya Métis Society, who provided advice on how to assemble our mittens.
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| Members of Waceya Métis Society, Langley City Council, and some Langley City staff making mittens. Select the image to enlarge. |
As you can imagine, mittens are an important article of clothing for Métis people in the winter. The mitten blends both Indigenous and European design elements. Our mittens were made out of real Hudson's Bay Company blankets and rabbit fur. Making mittens for family and friends is a Métis Christmas tradition. You can read about it in the book Métis Christmas Mittens, which is available at the library.
The mittens have a colourful floral design to help find them if they're dropped in the snow, and a red heart to show they were made with love. Often, Métis families would leave homemade mittens in a box at the door of their home for anyone who needed a pair.
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| A properly made mitten (not the ones I made). Select the image to enlarge. |
It was a bit of learning for me as I made two left-handed mittens by mistake, but I did learn how to make a blanket stitch. It was an honour to take part in this Métis tradition and to have good conversations. Every Council member was gifted the book Métis Christmas Mittens.
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