From rivers to the runway: B.C. woman reclaiming Indigenous heritage with fashion

A now internationally recognized fashion designer began her journey in textiles and self-expression after attending her first pow-wow. Since then, her pieces have been seen in forests and on runways around the world.

At age 11, Jill Setah participated in her first pow-wow and immediately fell in love with the colorful traditions she knew little about before. Her parents are survivors of Indian residential schools and were robbed of the opportunity to learn about her culture.

That weekend, Setah danced in a borrowed jungle dress and had fun with her friends, but the vibrancy of the costumes and loving community stayed with her. She began to regularly participate in pow-wows, as a way to get her culture back.

“It was illegal to practice pow-wow dancing until fairly recently,” Setah said.

After they had children, Setah began hand-sewing small ornaments for her daughters to wear at pow-wows.

One day, while painstakingly hand-sewing an elegant girl’s outfit, her husband suggested that she switch to a sewing machine.

There was just one problem, Setah had no idea how to use a sewing machine. Surprisingly, his outdoorsy mountain man knew how to sew and taught him with a borrowed machine.

Parents in her community began asking her to make decorations for their children, and Setah’s career as a fashion designer took off.

He then attended a private fashion school with the financial support of his band.

In class, she was…