TIME & DATE:
- Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Saturday, April 16, from 2 – 5 p.m.
PLACE: CERC Building, Marksville, LA
The Language & Culture Revitalization Program (LCRP) is hosting a Traditional Dress Making Workshop for mothers and daughters of Tunica-Biloxi families on Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Saturday, April 16, from 2 – 5 p.m. If necessary, the LCRP will schedule a follow-up meeting on Saturday, April 23 to help finish up the dresses. This free workshop is an opportunity for tribal women and girls to
learn the basic design elements of hand-made traditional Tunica-Biloxi style dresses. The LCRP staff and volunteer tailors will be on hand to assist attendees in constructing dresses. The LCRP will provide fabric, thread, rickrack, bias tape, pins, buttons, and patterns for participants. Sewing machines will also be available. We encourage tribal women to make a traditional dress to wear at the upcoming Tunica-Biloxi Pow Wow in May and for other tribal functions.
Tunica-Biloxi traditional women’s dresses were adapted from a 19th century designs consisting of a bodice with a fitted waist and a long, full skirt trimmed with ruffles and embellished with rickrack or bias tape. A white apron, trimmed in the color of the dress, completes the traditional outfit. The dress style is common among many tribes in the southeastern region of the country. Each tribe adopted their own style accents to make the design their own.
Over the years, Tunica-Biloxi families have made or purchased traditional dresses for their daughters who participated in pageants, Pow Wows and other tribal activities. We invite families to share these treasures with our tribal community. The LCRP invites families to bring their Tunica-Biloxi dresses to the workshop to provide examples of this tradition for our participants. If you cannot attend the workshop, send a picture of your dress to the LCRP. All Tunica-Biloxi seamstresses, tailors and sewing hobbyists are welcome!
To prepare for the workshop, the LCRP requests that mothers provide dress sizes by March 15th. Contact Elisabeth Mora at (800) 272-9767, ext. 6432; emora@tunica.orgor Brenda Lintinger at (866) 553-7716; lintingerbw@aol.com to provide size information and confirm your attendance.