Ink & Blood: Oakley Rain Wysote Gray Honours Indigenous History Through Fashion. [Issue 17 Feature]
Feature Article:
Ink & Blood: Oakley Rain Wysote Gray Honours Indigenous History Through Fashion
by Jerry-Faye Flatt
Photos by Hailley Fayle
Featured in Issue 17: Creativity
Available HERE
“Oakley Rain Wysote Gray has been dreaming of making clothing since they could talk…”
When they were four years old, their mom encouraged them to make clothes out of paper. But growing up they never saw anyone like them represented in the fashion design industry.
“There wasn't enough Indigenous representation and there was a lot of cultural appropriation. That’s what drove me into doing this. I need to see my culture in this field,” Oakley said.
Oakley is a Mi'gmaq artist and fashion designer from Listuguj First Nation and a 2021 graduate from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design’s Fashion Design Diploma program. Their debut fashion collection, Mei Eimotieg - We Are Still Here, was presented in NBCCD’s Fashion Week and the resulting book.
“It’s actually happened. It just feels surreal.”
Oakley’s fashion collection was inspired by a pouch, a piece they created for an assignment when they were in the NBCCD Aboriginal Visual Arts program (today called Wabanaki Visual Arts). It integrates key beadwork designs they grew up with, like double curves and waves. Oakley says the double curves represent the child in the womb. The waves were inspired by the Restigouche River that runs through Listuguj, and by Mi'gmaq artifacts on display in the New Brunswick Museum Archives, including a pouch with the same wave that Oakley used. Oakley describes this pouch, and these beadwork designs, as a piece of their identity and their soul.
“The blood is to honour the ancestors that have suffered bloodshed through colonization. The ink is a literal representation of what was used to shape our lives through the Indian Act.”
While some artists work spontaneously, Oakley chooses all aspects of their work with the utmost intentionality. The three colours used in the fashion collection are white, red and black. The white encapsulates a feeling of freedom and purity, “like if we lived our lives without anything holding us back,” said Oakley. The black is for ink, and the red is for blood.
“The blood is to honour the ancestors that have suffered bloodshed through colonization. The ink is a literal representation of what was used to shape our lives through the Indian Act.”
The launch of Mei Eimotieg came just days after the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a residential school in Kamloops BC. It hit close to home. One of their fashion designs tells the story of the trauma that families and children faced, and still face, because of residential schools. In a post on Instagram, Oakley wrote: “My heart aches at the thought of the remains that were found from the Kamloops residential school. When I was creating this piece, all I could think of is all the stories I’ve heard from RS survivors. While making this piece, all I could think about was how terrible those stories were. If you don’t know what happened in residential schools, please educate yourself on the topic.” (See the links below to find out how to do just that)
Each piece from Mei Eimotieg has its own story, all related to colonization, systemic racism, and what settlers took away from Indigenous people with the Indian Act.
Bleeding Heart Cape - “M’st No’gmaq” (All my relations)
“Our families were taken away with residential schools. [This piece] represents the children that were ripped from their family, so it’s almost as if they’re ripping their heart out by ripping them out of their family.”
Red Hood - “nmis” (Sister)
“I wanted to capture a piece where it was showing a bit of skin, but not in a sexual way, and takes back that feminine power that was taken away, especially with missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The mask is representing the hand over her mouth.”
Motorcycle Jacket - “Tapu’ijig sg'te'gmuj” (Two Spirits)
“The story about that is not so much about the outfit. In residential school, they cut off their hair. The entire outfit is supposed to represent cutting off his hair, his braids, and that’s why there’s blood coming down from the shoulder as if it was cutting a vital lifeline, which is our hair.”
Sheet Cape - “Wo'gumal” (Cousin)
“We value a lot of things we do with our hands. This outfit is supposed to represent how they took that away from us, they kind of slashed our hands so we couldn’t do anything.”
Chief Coat - “Nugumij” (Grandmother)
“The story of my chief’s coat talks about how the Indian Act is still affecting Indigenous people today,” wrote Oakley on Instagram. “Being raised by strong women my entire life, I always wondered why most wearable artifacts and chief coats were created for men. It’s simply because the artifacts that were kept safe were being worn by men in power whether they were Indigenous or not. Moving forward, I will create pieces that capture the strong feminine power that I grew up seeing from my Mother and Aunties.”
Oakley effectively mixes their love for fashion with their Mi'gmaq heritage, creating clothes that are culturally relevant, meaningful and educational. At NBCCD, while Oakley was creating the collection, students would come into the studio and ask them questions like, Why would you choose blood? Oakley would use these moments to educate.
The creation of the collection was a long, emotional process, at times causing Oakley anger and sadness. “But after that it was like I wanted to tell the story. So, it wasn’t so much attached to sadness anymore. It needs to be told, and there needs to be awareness brought to this, especially with what just happened with the residential school grave situation.”
Oakley Wysote Gray [they/he]
Artist & Fashion Designer
@gigpesan
Jerry-Faye Flatt [she/her]
Musician, Freelance Journalist & Teacher
@faeriejaye
A note from the author: I am a white settler living on unceded and unsurrendered Wolastoqey land. I am a visitor here. It is my duty, and yours too if you’re a settler, to take the time to learn that Canada was built on genocide. Realize whose land you live, work and thrive off. Understand that you, and I, benefit from colonialism. To quote @OnCanadaProject: “In short, if you live in Canada and are not Indigenous, you have a responsibility to do the work to learn more about, advocate for and reconcile with the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island.”
Educate Yourself
Get answers to common questions about residential schools: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-residential-schools-kamloops-faq-1.6051632
Bring your learning closer to home by finding out about the residential schools that were located near you: www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/beyond-94-residential-school-map/
Increase your awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls: www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/
Deepen your knowledge with a free course on Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada from the University of Alberta: www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada
The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone who needs it: 1-866-925-4419.
There’s More Where That Came From
This special issue of CreatedHere Magazine - arriving September 2021 - is here to inspire experimentation, awaken what has laid dormant, and add to the growing body of evidence for the impact of creative pursuits. Subscribe to our quarterly publication so you never miss an issue.