Even as Edmonton celebrated its Heritage Festival this past weekend, St. Albert decked out downtown with its own version of a multicultural fest.
The St. Albert Farmers’ Market, the largest outdoor market in western Canada, bustled with activity as shoppers filled eco bags with Ukrainian perogies, Italian sausage, Lebanese hummus, Greek baklava, Chinese delicacies and Canadian bison.
Under sunny, blue skies, shoppers gently jostled for space at the 250 vendor booths, eager to snap up goods ranging from fresh, locally grown veggies, frozen chickens and zippy salsas to mosaic garden furniture, walking canes and baby clothes.
One St. Albert resident proud to share his native heritage is Mark McKennitt, 35, a jewelry and moccasin vendor. Neatly arranged on his table are necklaces, chokers, bracelets, earrings, medicine bags, purses, dreamcatchers, keychains and assorted moccasins for toddlers to adults. And it’s strictly a family affair where every bit of handiwork maintains a connection to nature in the use of natural products.
A 1994 Bellerose Composite High School grad, McKennitt is a professional Aboriginal dancer who stumbled on the idea of selling crafts while on a tour of Italy in 2006 with the Native Friendship Centre’s White Braid Society.
As a Canadian cultural ambassador, he had already performed in Turkey, Austria, Japan and Taiwan. But for the Italian tour, McKennitt decided to experiment with selling crafts when not dancing.
“They loved us. They adored Aboriginal crafts. We were treated like royalty over there. Every day, we kept making more crafts and we sold out daily. That’s when I thought about going full-time into this,” he explains.
Born into Cree roots, McKennitt was adopted into a local Ojibwa family. He developed a strong kinship with his native roots when, at the age of five, along with two younger brothers, he visited his Ojibwa moshom (grandfather) in Manitoba.
The elder introduced his grandson to both Aboriginal craft making and dancing. “He taught us dancing that summer and made us an outfit — the regalia complete with moccasins, ribbon shirt, breech cloth, cuffs, head dress and bustle. We spent the summer going on the powwow trail. Every weekend, we went to a different reserve in Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.”
When McKennitt returned, he simply continued dancing through White Braid. In addition, his mother Hazel, a liaison worker with Edmonton Public Schools, taught crafts to youth. McKennitt had developed a flair for crafts and was often lassoed into helping out.
Today, much of McKennitt’s handmade jewelry incorporates the turquoise, long revered by North American natives as a healing stone. However, it is the feather earrings that are hot items.
“It’s movie stars and celebrities who wear them that have popularized them,” adds Hazel. She also contributes to the jewelry beading.
Another hot seller is his aunt’s neatly stitched moccasins custom made from deer, moose and elk hide, and lined with rabbit or sheepskin.
Hazel picks up a baby pair of moccasins. “This is native tanned hide. Smell it. You can still smell the smoke on it,” she says, adding that traditional dancers always wear moccasins crafted from a smoked hide.
Although McKennitt also sells at Callingwood Market, his heart belongs to St. Albert. “I enjoy seeing local people I know — past teachers, students, friends and family.”
The market runs every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
