NOTE: Brock University announced the creation of its Indigenous Research Grant in 2021. This is the last in a series of articles profiling the research of the 2024 recipients of this annual internal award. Read more on the series on The Brock News.

When Haudenosaunee young men make their Gustowahs, they’re not just assembling the feathers, hides and other materials in the correct way.

Creating a headdress involves a journey that starts before the actual activity.

“The men have to know a little bit about our Creation story and our teachings of the Kayanerenko:wa (Great Law of Peace),” says Sherri Vansickle, who is from the Onondaga Nation, Eel Clan, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.

“They have to know about our teaching of being good Onkwehonwe (Original) people,” says the Assistant Professor of Education. “They need to know their roles and responsibilities as uncles, partners, dads and brothers; we’ll make sure that they know that.”

Vansickle is leading research on the teachings and practices of the Haudenosaunee Gustowah headdress.

She is partnering with the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre to offer a workshop for a dozen young Indigenous men, to be held on an Elder’s land.

The program will start by evaluating participants’ awareness of the Gustowah headdress, which will guide Elders on the knowledge they will pass along during the workshop as well as provide a point of comparison after the workshop.

Opening the workshop will be the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, says Vansickle, adding that everything starts with gratitude.

“We’ll give thanks for all of creation,” she says. “We’ll give thanks to the deer who gives its hide for the leather and to the tree who gives itself for the frames and to the birds, eagles and wild turkeys who give themselves for the feathers.”

A Haudenosaunee Indigenous Knowledge Keeper will guide the workshop and teachings during the making of the Gustowahs.

After the workshop, Vansickle and her team will ask participants a series of questions.

“I’m aiming to find out what Haudenosaunee men appreciate after learning about making Gustowahs on the land and if their sense of identity has changed after having made a Gustowah,” she says.

As is the case with the Ribbon Skirt research, which Vansickle is also part of, the Gustowah research process will follow the principles of OCAP, which stands for ownership, control, access and possession.

A “how to” manual will also be created and photos taken so that the community can have access to this knowledge. Participants will be able to use their Gustowahs in ceremony and at events, she says.

Vansickle says she hopes the research will add to the bundle of Indigenous Knowledge at the Friendship Centre as well as address some of silences in the academic literature so Indigenous students can see themselves represented and be proud of their teachings.