A model from the MuscoWPetung Saulteaux Nation walked the runway in New York Fashion Week and did traditional jigging.
Anaquod said she wanted to cry from happiness but she was able to hold her tears back.
She said that it was a dream come true because it was.
She said the experience made her feel good.
I walked onto the runway to heal the wounds of our ancestors who came before us.
After International Indigenous Fashion Week held a competition for the Model of the Year and she was nominated by a designer for the arts and fashion category, she was given the chance to walk the runway. She waited until this past weekend for her chance to walk the runway, even though she won in October 2020.
She said it was her first time in New York and she had never traveled outside of Canada. Her father helped her and her cousin drive there.
“They are very supportive of everything I do,” she said.
Family pride
The father said seeing his daughter on the runway was great.
He said he had tears in his eyes when he watched the dancing.
It was an accomplishment of her biggest dream and that’s what I wanted to see.
He said that Courtney-Dawn had always wanted to be a model.
He said she achieved the goal.
She said that it was important to break through the cycle of intergenerational trauma.
She said that she fought a battle of alcoholism and is going on six years of sober living.
I was able to overcome those challenges and those troubling times within my family and myself because I grew up in a family with cycles of family violence and addictions.
She said that she took all of the challenges she has faced and turned them into opportunities for her to rise and overcome them.
‘I will jig on that runway’
She was happy to showcase her passion for Jigging as well.
She said she was asked if she wanted to showcase her jigging talent at the fashion week.
She said she told her she would jig on the runway.
I dance anywhere I possibly can.
She jigged in all of the eight states she passed through on her way to New York.
She said that dancing is at the centre of who she is.
Since she was 10, she has been dancing. He was a guitar player for a long time and traveled with her on the road.
He said she socialized right in there with the rest of the dancers and picked up on it quickly.
She said that the trip was important to help inspire other Indigenous people to follow their dreams. She has a 19-year old nephew and two children.
She wanted to show her children that they can achieve anything.
“You can still make your dreams come true if you go through some struggles and challenges in your life,” she said.