The Canadian Journal of Indigenous Studies

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): Celebrating Indigenous Studies Across the Globe
Scholarly Articles

Form a Calming Circle: Beadwork, Humor, and/as Medicine in Extraordinary Times

PDF
  • Danielle Lussier
Danielle Lussier
Queen's University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36939/cjis/vol2no1/art8

Published 2026-04-03

Keywords

  • Beadwork,
  • Humour,
  • Kinship,
  • Medicines,
  • Parenting,
  • Plants,
  • Textiles,
  • Traditional Garments,
  • Métis textile arts,
  • Métis Motherhood
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Lussier, D. (2026). Form a Calming Circle: Beadwork, Humor, and/as Medicine in Extraordinary Times. The Canadian Journal of Indigenous Studies , 2(1), 102–124. https://doi.org/10.36939/cjis/vol2no1/art8

Copyright (c) 2026 Danielle Lussier

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Abstract

This article documents the creation of a Métis fire bag ("octopus" bag) as a site of kinship, healing, and resurgence during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Drawing on Métis beadwork practices, traditional plant knowledge, and humour the article traces how beadwork can hold space simultaneously as material culture, medicine, and relational pedagogy. Through an autoethnographic account of designing and beading a vibrant purple fire bag, the author explores how intentional making, and teachings embedded in plants and stitches, can support individual and collective well‑being. The article contributes to Indigenous scholarship on material arts by foregrounding beadwork as a living practice that carries memory, care, and medicine across generations.

PDF