For Isabella Kulak, marking National Ribbon Skirt Day means wearing clothing that represents who you are.

A public outpouring that followed her decision to wear a ribbon skirt to school a little more than two years ago led Parliament to designate Jan. 4 as a day for Canadians to learn more about Indigenous identity and culture.

B次元官网网址淲e invite everyone to wear their clothing and represent the same message for them to wear something that shows the world who they are,B次元官网网址� Kulak, 12, said in an interview Tuesday.

B次元官网网址淗onour this day.B次元官网网址�

Kulak, a member of the Cote First Nation, had decided in December 2020 to wear a ribbon skirt, a brightly patterned and typically handmade piece of clothing adorned with ribbons, for a formal day at her school in rural Saskatchewan.

Indigenous women wear ribbon skirts as a show of pride and for cultural events. Wearing one makes Kulak B次元官网网址渇eel proud and strong,B次元官网网址� she said Tuesday B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渉appy and resilient.B次元官网网址�

But at the time,KulakB次元官网网址檚 family said a staff member at her school remarked that the garment wasnB次元官网网址檛 considered formal enough.

The school division apologized, saying it needed to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism within its own walls and in the province, which is home to many First Nations.

KulakB次元官网网址檚 story sparked a movement of Indigenous women posting photos of themselves donning their own ribbon skirts, and led to calls for a national day to be created.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among those who spoke in support of Kulak. At the time, her family said that many people also sent her ribbon skirts.

More than two years later, her mother, Lana, said the family is still in B次元官网网址渄isbeliefB次元官网网址� about all that has happened.

She said she believes her daughterB次元官网网址檚 story resonated because people put themselves in a little girlB次元官网网址檚 shoes and decided that enough is enough.

B次元官网网址淭hey can remember one time it happened to them when they were little and they didnB次元官网网址檛 think anything of it. As for myself, it happened one too many times. And I just got used to it,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淓verybody put their foot down B次元官网网址� and it kind of just woke the world.B次元官网网址�

In November 2021, Manitoba Sen. Mary Jane McCallum introduced a bill recognizing Jan. 4 as a National Ribbon Skirt Day.

The date was chosen because Jan. 4, 2021 had marked KulakB次元官网网址檚 first day back at her school after the incident. She was walked to the building by relatives wearing ribbon skirts and welcomed into the school with drumming.

The bill, whose preamble acknowledges the ribbon skirt as B次元官网网址渁 centuries-old spiritual symbol of womanhood, identity, adaptation and survival,B次元官网网址� passed in the Senate last May, then in the House of Commons in December.

Kulak, now 12, said she plans to mark the occasion on Wednesday with a celebration at her home nation, which is planning an event.

The day before, she still hadnB次元官网网址檛 chosen with skirt she planned to wear. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 really excited.B次元官网网址�

Her mother said they want Jan. 4 to be an inclusive day.

B次元官网网址淲e understand not everybody owns a ribbon skirt or wears a ribbon skirt, but (they can) wear something with pride that represents who they are.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擲tephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press