Pride in the hide Leatherworks studio a vital source for ceremonial powwow regalia and alternative-Indigenous fashion The Creators
By: AV Kitching Posted: 3:45 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 26, 2024

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This article was published 26/04/2024 (831 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He started off making powwow regalia but these days you’re just as likely to find Cecil Sveinson creating cross-body harnesses and metal-studded chokers as you are to see him crafting leather belts for ribbon skirts.

Sveinson, 53, is the brains behind Buffalo Dancer Designs, his home-based basement leatherworks studio where he painstakingly creates belts and ceremonial wear as well as alternative-fashion accessories.

All of Sveinson’s leather items start out as a sheet of raw vegetable-tanned leather — he buys a whole hide — before he cuts, dyes, treats and burnishes the edges.

He then assembles each item using hardware such as conchos and pendants sourced from Indigenous makers in New Mexico.

Sveinson’s foray into leatherwork began as a hobby; stuck inside during the pandemic-triggered lockdowns, he started making belts to while away the seemingly interminable hours.

He would post pictures of his latest work on Facebook and Instagram prompting a tide of requests from friends and family wanting the same things for themselves.

He swiftly realized there was a gap in the market; locally-made powwow leatherwear was something people were missing.

Good-quality items were hard to source, and people were often having to order online from makers and businesses in Texas.

“Traditionally, leather is an investment. It’s something people had for life. I didn’t see anyone creating things like this. My family were very involved in Ojibwe ceremonies and part of the regalia that my family wear are ribbon skirts with these belts that I create,” he says.

Sveinson has since found his work has garnered interest in an unexpected quarter: the Indigenous alternative community.

He now crafts alternative-fashion leather accessories such as studded bracelets, wide belts and chokers that his 17-year-old daughter Shilo designs.

Shilo, a 12th grader at Dakota Collegiate, helped him tap into the community of alternative, goth and punk Indigenous youth who were looking for Indigenous-made accessories with an edge.

“When it comes to the alternative stuff, my youngest daughter comes to me with designs. She pays attention to that fashion world. She will show me something that is trending and say ‘can you make this?’ She is the designer of the alternative wear… she thinks of the concept and I make it real, “ he says.

The alternative-fashion arm of his work has seen him craft items such as gold-on-white leather chokers with cascading chains, cross-body harnesses and corset-style powwow belts.

“I never realized how big it was,” he says. “Nobody was making anything geared towards the alternative punk kids. She wanted us to make things like pink and lavender powwow belts with alternative adornments and colours.

“Thick powwow belts are generally four inches, but it was her idea for me to make them wider, like a corset. We added a strap like a Y-harness and it blew people away. People loved it. That was her brainchild.”

It’s a venture which reminds him of his own youth, he says.

As a teenager Sveinson, who was into punk and heavy metal himself, would make his own accessories, in the DIY spirit of punk.

“I like creating things that younger people really enjoy and feel connected to,” he says. “We can respect tradition but we can also have a modern aspect to it.”

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca