For Williams Lake teenager Kaden Napoleon, her search for the perfect grad dress wasn’t just about finding the right style, it was also about making a statement about her cultural identity. Of Saulteau and Secwepemc descent, Kaden and her Auntie, Courtney McKone, set out months in advance to find a seamstress, eventually partnering with local designer Tanis Artmstrong. The outcome was show stopping.
“It felt special,” Kaden said of the feeling of wearing the dress for the grad parade Saturday (June 8) and Dry Grad festivities. “But mostly I felt grateful for all of the work that went into it.” Inspired by the tuxedo gown Billy Porter wore at the Academy Awards in 2019, Kaden took her detailed sketches and the idea of pairing a traditional ribbon skirt with a ball gown style to Tanis, who’s original work she saw in Art Walk last year.
“I didn’t think it was even possible but she really brought it to life,” Kaden said of Tanis’ work. “And she was so respectful.” Kaden describes her childhood as growing up with a lot of family connections, living at different times with her parents, her grandparents, and currently her Auntie, Courtney McKone.
Her grandfather is a residential school survivor and Kaden said she has experienced the effects of intergenerational trauma and dysfunction due to that past. In recent years, for a time, Kaden said she felt as though she was losing connection to her culture. Taking Secwepemc language classes at school with Virginia R.