Cree man's dream of a Walmart bag ribbon shirt becomes reality thanks to crafty uncle

1 week_ago 9

Indigenous·New

Sage Ballantyne and his nephew Chase Meechance recovered a caller usage for reusable buying bags.

Now there's No Frills pants to implicit the ensemble

Stefan Richard · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Sage Ballantyne wearing the reusable Walmart container ribbon shirt.

A imaginativeness successful a imagination relayed from nephew to uncle has spawned a unsocial manner statement: a ribbon garment made retired of reusable Walmart buying bags.

Chase Meechance, a subordinate of Red Pheasant Cree Nation successful Saskatchewan, had a imagination of being astatine powwow grounds and seeing radical astir him successful ribbon shirts made of Walmart buying bags.

After watching a livestream of his uncle beading and making powwow regalia, Meechance decided to scope out.

A ribbon garment is a piece of regalia that is worn by a fig of antithetic Indigenous nations during times of solemnisation oregon during definite customs and ceremonies.

Some ribbon shirts incorporated flowing ribbons and flashy colours, portion immoderate are much toned down with plain plan and simpler colour combinations.

Some are made of polyester, fabric oregon satin, and immoderate are made of reusable Walmart buying bags.

Sage Ballantyne is Meechance's uncle and the proprietor of Kihew Mekwan Designs, a powwow regalia making business.

"I tin marque your imagination a reality," Ballantyne said to his nephew successful a telephone call.

A accepted ribbon garment made retired of reusable Walmart buying bags.

Ballantyne said it took betwixt 4 and 5 hours and 13 bags to trade a roughly 4XL garment for Meechance.

Ballantyne started sewing 5 years ago, designing and making powwow regalia for his son, who was six at the clip and wanted to get onto the powwow trail.

"I had ne'er touched a sewing instrumentality successful my life," helium said.

"I conscionable started playing with it and playing astir with things."

Meechance is the creator of the "Off The Rez" Facebook and TikTok accounts, specializing successful archetypal drama contented with an Indigenous twist. Currently, Off The Rez has implicit 260,000 followers connected Facebook and much than 313,000 followers connected TikTok.

In a caller video, Meechance wore the ribbon garment to a Walmart determination to bash immoderate shopping.

"Actually an Indigenous pistillate came up and complimented america erstwhile we were walking in," Meechance said.

Ballantyne has now also crafted pants for powwow regalia retired of No Frills bags, which took him astir 5 hours to complete.

Traditional pow wow regalia made from No Frills reusable buying bags.

The Walmart ribbon garment has inspired like-minded designers to sew with what they have, including a Dollarama ribbon skirt that caught the oculus of Ballantyne and Meechance.

"They said they got the inspiration from the ribbon garment video that was going around," Ballantyne said.

"It brings maine joyousness that radical are recognizing my work."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stefan Richard is simply a newsman for CBC Indigenous, based successful Treaty 1 territory. His enactment has appeared connected Corus Radio, Native Communications Inc., APTN, NPR, and Slam Wrestling. Stefan is simply a arrogant subordinate of Sagkeeng First Nation.

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