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Cheryl Minnema Beads her Way to Preserving her Culture
April 28, 2010
By Sheila Regan
Cheryl Minnema, Waabaanakwadookwe, has been practicing beadwork all her life. A member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Minnema learned to bead from her grandmother, mother, and sisters and has achieved great skill in creating moccasins and other traditional and ceremonial items. She is very interested in preserving the traditions of her people, but she also brings to her craft a contemporary viewpoint as well.
Recently, Minnema was in search for an intensive project that she could tackle. She was interested in learning about crafts that not many people knew how to do anymore, because she hopes to save some of that knowledge and pass it on. She came upon the traditional Ojibwe Bandolier bags while doing research in them because only a few people know how to make them in this area.
She was also attracted to the bandolier bags because of their immense elaboration. The bags, which can weigh more than two pounds, have a wide, beaded shoulder strap and a huge front panel, which is rectangular. They were traditionally worn by men during ceremonies and special occasions. The men would often put their prized possessions in the bag. Because of the amount of work it took to make a bandolier bag, they were very prestigious, Minnema said.
Minnema began speaking with the Minnesota State Historical Society, which was also interested in doing a project involving bandolier bags. The organization, along with the Minnesota History Center and the Mille Lacs Indian Museum, came up with an idea to develop the Ojibwe Shoulder Bag Activity Kit, which can be used by educators to teach about Ojibwe culture with a particular focus on Minnema’s work, beading and bandolier bags. The kit includes interviews with Minnema, Ojibwe music by flutist Darren Moose, Ogemabenez, historical and cultural lessons, and arts activities.
For research, Minnema said she looked at a lot of pictures on the internet, and images available at the Mille Lacs museum. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to replicate the old way of making the bags exactly; her interpretation would make the bag contemporary. “I don’t try to pawn it off as a duplicate or exact replicate,” she said. “The project allowed me to express my own creativity in coming up with the designs.” She got ideas from her mother, and busied herself experimenting with cloth, and making adjustments. Although her mother and grandmother never made a bandolier bag, Minnema was pleased to learn that her grandmother’s mother had made them.
A bandolier bag takes about 7-9 months to complete. Minnema has finished two, both of which were purchased by the Mille Lacs Band for the Mille Lacs Indian Museum, and is working on a third. “I felt like it was quite an accomplishment,” Minnema said.
