‘I got brave enough’: How a Sask. Indigenous woman has a new spin on a traditional tool

One Indigenous mother stepped outside in unfamiliar territory to dance powwow while carrying her baby in a cradleboard. It was something that inspired many Indigenous mothers.

In honour of Mother’s Day, two Indigenous women, who are powwow dancers, reflect on their roles as mothers and how they are reclaiming their Indigeneity by bringing back a traditional tool that symbolizes motherhood.

Marrisa Moccasin-Mitsuing from the Saulteaux First Nation is embracing her role as a mother by adopting the use of a cradleboard, which is a traditional baby carrier used by many Indigenous tribes historically and still to this day.

“A cradleboard is like a backpack with a baby,” said Moccasin-Mitsuing, who is a proud mother of five. “A cradleboard is something that women and communities had so that the baby remains close to them. Indigenous women always work so hard … the (cradleboard) allowed them to have their baby with them at all times.”

During the pandemic, as Moccasin-Mitsuing was adjusting to living in temporary isolation, she wanted to learn more about her upbringing, along with her parents who are both residential school survivors. It was also a time when Kamloops and Cowessess First Nation announced the discoveries of unmarked graves of children who were students at Indian residential schools.

She says she became more curious about the past as she came to understand her parents’ stories better and how residential schools had an impact on their upbringing. She started looking at old photos of Indigenous women prior to residential schools and their roles as mothers. Moccasin-Mitsuing noticed how so many women used cradleboards in the photos and an idea sparked in her head.

“I took a lot of inspiration from that,” she said. “I also wanted to be like an image for my parents who didn’t get to grow up with their parents who were ripped away from their homes … it was more like something for them.”

After consulting with a few women from her community, Moccasin-Mitsuing conducted her first powwow dance at Sweetgrass First Nation last year where she was seen carrying her son in a cradleboard.

“I got brave enough one day and it just turned into something so much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined,” she said.