USask student creates ribbon skirts for charity

During his first year of post-secondary, when University of Saskatchewan student Sawyer Kopec attended his first powwow, he felt ill-suited to participate in any of the traditions.

A Métis student from Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Kopec grew up in a small rural community with very little of his culture around him. Attending that powwow, feeling unconnected, became a major catalyst for change in Kopec.

“I didn’t feel comfortable there. There were people in my class who were connected to their culture and wearing their regalia. I didn’t have anything like that so I felt out of place,” he said.

“I don’t want people to feel that way, like there’s a barrier between them connecting to their culture. So if I can lessen that barrier in any way, that’s what I chose to do.”