Deb Haaland became the 54th secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior March 18, and she wore a ribbon skirt made by Agnes Woodward at her swearing in.
Woodward, a tribal member of the Plains Cree as well as a past Indiana resident, is a graduate of the Monroe County Community School Corp.'s Adult Education program at the Broadview Learning Center.
Haaland is a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico. She is the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary. Vice President Kamala Harris officiated at the ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C.
As Haaland took her oath, she wore Woodward's ribbon skirt, bursting with horizontal rainbow colors, a butterfly and ears of corn clinging to their stalk. A ribbon skirt uses an A-line design and is layered with (usually) satin ribbons.
Woodward, a self-taught seamstress from Kawacatoose First Nation (Saskatchewan, Canada), made the garment, one of many she has created as a full-time advocate for the Three Affiliated Tribes’ victim service center.
Woodward's aunt — Eleanor Ewenin — was murdered in 1982. In Ewenin's memory, Woodward started making skirts to represent missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, making a similar skirt for Woodward's mother.
While representing a New Mexico district in the U.S. House of Representatives, Haaland introduced a bill in 2019 centered on missing and murdered Indigenous women. According to the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, the U.S. Department of Justice said American Indian women's murder rates exceed the national average by more than 10 times. First Nations and Native American girls, women and transgender people are victims of violence at a greater rate than most other groups in both the U.S. and Canada.
The Cree Indians are a large tribe of Native Americans living in parts of North America, including the Rocky Mountain and areas along the Atlantic Coast. As with other Native tribes, the Cree Indians have several bands, and between Canada and the United States, there are approximately 200,000 Cree Indians.
Saskatchewan, where Woodward is from, is the only province in Canada without a natural border. Its rivers, reservoirs and 100,000 lakes mean that nearly one tenth of the province is water. Chief Kawacatoose signed a treaty in1874 and in 1876 received a reserve in the Big Touchwood Hills. His son Tawequasequape later became chief, and members began to farm with supplies obtained from the treaty.
Woodward's design for Haaland's skirt represents Haaland's pueblo. Haaland selected two butterflies from Woodward's previous work. The stars, with points, serve as Woodward's signature.
Woodward's past teacher at the Broadview Learning Center, Chris Harmon, said he found Woodward to be intelligent and diligent.
"Agnes came in a very hard worker, but nervous. She is very smart and was able to learn the material quickly, but she had a lot of holes in her knowledge," he said.
Woodward spent about four months in the MCCSC program in 2017 and accumulated about 125 class hours before passing her test. She and her family now live in South Dakota.
"We help our students earn their High School Equivalency Diploma ... and prepare for college entrance exams," Harmon said.
Watch the ceremony
Secretary Haaland's swearing-in, as she wears Woodward's art, can be seen on Youtube at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oRNo6o2gQ14 and was live-streamed on Somáh Haaland’s Instagram account.
The Link LonkJune 27, 2021 at 11:00AM
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MCCSC adult ed grad designs skirt worn by Deb Haaland at ceremony - The Herald-Times
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