Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) celebrated Cultural Week last week and at the beginning, they held Chief Maureen Brown’s Headdress Ceremony at the Veteran’s Hall. This is the first time in OCN’s history that a female has been elected as chief and presented a headdress.
“The event was so incredible and inspiring,” said OCN Chief Maureen Brown. “What I found amazing was my actual headdress. I didn’t know how it was going to look. It was absolutely beautiful and so symbolic to me. Everything that is on it is significant. Les and Ester Thompson designed my headdress.
“Les did the feathers on my headdress and he didn’t know my name was Minosowin Iskwew, which means Shining Woman, and the tips of the feathers were yellow and represented that. I was given that Ojibwe name by the former Grand Chief of the Southern Chiefs Organization, Morris Shannacappo.