'Itty bitty cuts of memories' come together in memorial moosehide purse

Dorothy Stewart · CBC News · Posted: Feb 11, 2022 4:00 AM CT | Last Updated: February 11

For years, the late Phyllis Sam Matthew of Chisasibi, Que., kept small bits of moosehide in a heavy cotton pillowcase. 

An avid sewer and beader, she was also staying true to the Cree traditional value of using every last bit of a harvest. 

She knew the pieces of moosehide would one day come in handy. 

In the spring of 2017 they did, when her daughter Hannah Snowboy stitched them together into a very special gift for her younger sister, Patricia Matthew.

"My mom loved sewing and made many different items such as moccasins, walking-out outfits and blankets," said Snowboy. A walking-out ceremony is a Cree rite of passage that marks a child's first encounter with nature.

My mom loved sewing ... moccasins, walking-out outfits and blankets.- Hannah Snowboy, Chisasibi, Que.

Before she passed away in 2013, Phyllis was often a go-to person in Chisasibi, who could skillfully and beautifully make these traditional and important outfits and crafts.

"She couldn't say 'no' when people asked her if she could make something. She also had a passion for skinning and tanning hides," said Snowboy.

She and her sister Patricia didn't know what their mother had planned for the bits of moosehide in the pillowcase, but they did know it was a prized possession and a powerful reminder of her.

A year after she passed, and as is Cree custom, Phyllis's belongings were distributed among her family and friends.

Patricia, who had lived with and cared for their mother during her illness, was chosen to keep the pillowcase of fragrant bits of hide. 

When Snowboy got the inspiration to make a purse with the precious bits of moosehide, she knew she wanted to make it for her younger sister, Patricia.

"There were many times while I was working on this purse … I often shed tears, thinking of my mom," said Snowboy. 

It was their mom who taught the sisters how to sew and bead.

Pieces dictated the pattern

Snowboy said she didn't use a pattern for the purse, but instead let the pieces dictate the pattern. 

"I sewed the pieces of moosehide together wherever they fit, they were many sizes and shapes," she said, adding they came together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 

"I did embroidery where I sewed them together after that." 

Snowboy said that like her mom, she rarely uses a pattern when she sews. 

'When I decided to make this purse, I did not tell anyone about it." 

"I thought I would make it to show something that my late mother kept for a long time and that it would be seen by others this way." 

Snowboy said her sister Patricia was very pleased with the gift. 

"I wanted her to have it, so she can have itty bitty cuts of memories from our late mother."