Red cone project a family affair

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This article was published 04/02/2020 (2248 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Émilie McKinney and her mother and business partner Natalie Foidart expect to launch their red jingle-dance cones come Thursday, with a plan to contribute part of their profits to Indigenous families experiencing the trauma of missing or murdered women.

McKinney, now 19, recalled the day a few years ago when she and her mother bought cones at a Winnipeg store. On the drive back to their home at Swan Lake First Nation, McKinney, a hoop and a jingle dancer, realized the cones were not only costly, but actually made in Taiwan. She felt insulted.

“It’s a non-Indigenous company profiting off Indigenous people and ceremonial items,” she said.

Her mother, who McKinney figures was annoyed at her complaining, egged her on: “If you don’t do something, who will?”

Anishinaabe Bimishimo is now a thriving business, and McKinney said it’s the first to manufacture jingle-dress cones in Canada.

The young entrepreneur feels equally troubled about fundraising related to missing and murdered Indigenous women. While she and Foidart always did intend to move beyond silver, gold and nickel cones, they wanted to make an impact, a difference.

Red made sense.

“We’d seen a lot of red-dress videos and a lot of awareness campaigns. But something we noticed is that a lot of the money doesn’t go directly to the family. A lot of people are hosting big events, but where does the money go? This is going to sound harsh … Are people really pocketing off of dead women?”

The red cone, then, is not just about bringing something new to the table, but is intended to demonstrate how to be impeccable for a cause.

“We’ve secretly been working on this red cone project for over a year, now. From choosing the right colour to choosing the right organizations to choosing the right partners … we wanted it to be as perfect as possible. We want to be a positive influence.”

Anishinaabe Bimishimo has teamed up with four Canadian, four U.S. and four international Indigenous fashion designers whose work will be showcased with the launch of the red cones.

“They’re not all going to be dresses. It’s up to their own creativity,” said McKinney, adding the designs will be featured of her website.

The launch of the red cones is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. at the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre in Winnipeg, which is one of the organizations the red cones project

is raising funds for.

 

» mletourneau@brandonsun.com

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