Lessons From The Land: Intro to Natural Dyeing with Rita Point Kompst

Join us for an informative evening where you will learn how Rita uses our locally foraged and grown plants from our Indigenous Friendship Patches to create naturally dyed wool. Over the last two seasons, the Kits Point Butterflyway and various Vancouver Butterflyway gardens have been growing and harvesting Goldenrod, Red Hopi Amaranth, Marigolds and Mugwort for Rita.

What to Expect:

During the 90-minutes, Rita will showcase how she works with yarn mordanted with either alum or iron with the three plant kin our DSF Butterflyway Gardens have been growing over the course of Spring – Fall this year.

Participants will take home the knowledge of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being, tending to the land and Natural Dyeing practices through an Indigenous Lens.

Sarah Jamieson, DSF Kits Point Ranger will offer information on how to get involved with the DSF Butterflyway Initiative and our in house Indigenous Friendship Patches pilot project, as a way to offer land access to Indigenous Artists and to progress the following Truth and Reconciliation calls to action.

Moving Beyond Land Awckoledgement:

With the implementation of friendship patches we hope to establish long-term relationships with Indigenous Artists and communities, while addressing the following calls to action:

12 - Culturally appropriate Early Childhood Education (for family gardens)

62, 63, 64, 65, 66 - Education and Reconciliation

92- Economic Reconciliation

Land Access and Land Acknowledgement

Meet Rita Point Kompst:

Rita was born and raised in Musqueam. Her late Father, Joe Becker, a former Musqueam Chief, was mainly a carver and a fisherman. Rita started cedar weaving once her Father passed as per her Cultural teachings. She experienced several personal losses over the next 7 years and continued weaving on her healing journey. Her Mentor Todd Devries encouraged her to begin teaching cedar weaving several years ago. Now she teaches cedar weaving full-time.

The David Sizuki Foundation's Butterflyway Project:

For more information on the DSF Butterflway Project please visit: https://davidsuzuki.org/take-action/act-locally/butterflyway/

Your ticket fee invests in Rita's time, knowledge and materials as well as it includes snacks and refreshments and fire-side conversation.

Host or Publisher Kits Beach Coffee