Conclusion

Clothing serves many purposes. It keeps us warm and protects us, displays our interests and hobbies and shows how work has changed over time. It connects us to our cultural heritage and shares our cultural identities with others.   

Decisions about what clothing we buy, wear and keep are often influenced by where we come from and where we live. Clothing can help us keep old traditions close or meld old cultures with new.   

Garments are everyday objects but those that help us create, preserve and project a sense of identity. It can showcase our individuality and our membership in different communities.   

Clothing can represent resistance and resilience. For decades it was illegal for Indigenous people to wear their ceremonial clothing due to assimilation policies of the Canadian Government. These garments represent a rejection of colonial authority and the strength of Indigenous communities.  

These 20 stories provide a glimpse into the stories found in ordinary and extraordinary clothing. They highlight the diversity of Saskatchewan’s people and their experiences, their triumphs and their losses. Preserving these histories is an important part of sharing Saskatchewan’s history.  

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Teachers and Educators

Our Collective Threads Virtual School Program

Created to meet Grades 5 – 7 curriculum outcomes, this program introduces students to a selection of textiles reflecting the diversity of Saskatchewan’s people past and present and how their own clothing choices reflect aspects of their identity. They will be challenged to think critically about the exhibit creation process, what impacts decisions about what is or isn’t included, and what that means for how history is presented to the public by museums.

CLICK HERE to visit our program.